Resurgance
by Witch of Swords
Summary: (DISCONTINUED) In the past, a tragedy befalls Kagome. Now on her side of the well with half of the jewel and a fear of what awaits her when she goes back, she goes on break to recover from injury. But she soon finds that she really can't escape the Shikon's destiny.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Violence

Prologue

"Shippo, watch out!"

A girl dove into a small, quivering boy. Just as she reached him, the man's blade reached its targeted area.

The girl let out a scream as her leg was cut, the feeling of her skin giving way under the sword's edge horrific. But, her kit was safe, albeit terrified, and she was alive.

The second that the creature's blade left her leg, she rolled over, arrow notching on a taut bow faster than thought. Before it could react, she fired, and the air was filled with a crackling wave of glowing silver energy as the arrow soared.

It met the monster's chest and a loud, gurgled scream filled the air as it fell to its knees.

Slowly, she rose, weight staying off of her damaged leg. She crept towards the creature, next arrow being drawn as she went.

"You think to kill me!" it snarled, voice echoing in a strange metallic rumble.

"You're Naraku's biggest abomination to date. All of them are dead because of you!" the girl snarled.

"Yes. And whose fault is it for not killing me?" the man sneered.

Without a word, she fired the arrow into its back. Light exploded through his body, and when he stopped moving, she retrieved the small bundle of black shards from his mid-back.

As soon as they made contact with the girl's skin, they flashed into a pearly white shade, and she stared down at the creature with a mixture of horror and disgust.

But it was a short-lived feeling. Because, as she was staring down at it, a black shimmer of energy enveloped it. And then, it was gone, a wave of concussive black flames flaring in an unholy halo around it.

As it hit her, she went backwards, tumbling knee-first into the lip of an ancient wooden well. Before she began to fall, a loud squeak assaulted her ears and a pair of small, warm arms engulfed her chest. And then, there was brilliant light, and nothingness engulfed her the same time her head hit the cold, wooden bottom of a well…

Kagome came to with a groan, head swimming and a dull, throbbing ache making itself known on the back of her head.

When she tried to rise, two small arms pressed firmly on her shoulder, holding her down. Her eyes opened to find a pair of wide, round eyes the color of trees in spring staring at her own. It took her disconnected mind a few seconds to connect the face hovering over her with a name, and then she pulled the small body to her chest.

"Shippo, good morning!"

"Mama!" he cried, burying his head in her chest.

She felt the telltale lump of warmth pressing into her, and looked down to find the half-finished Shikon hanging from a chain around her kit's throat. Slowly, Kagome took stock of her surroundings, and a frown filled her lips. The air smelled somewhat stale, and whatever she was lying on was much softer than what she was used to.

"Shippo, where are we?" she finally asked, frustrated at her confusion.

"We're on the other side of the well, mama," he said, eyes shining and averted.

"That can't be. You're here, silly," she admonished, kissing his forehead.

"The jewel let me through, I think," he said sadly. "I refused to let you go, and then there was this big light, and then the air changed how it smelled."

And then, the memories came back, and tears began to fill her eyes.

"Oh, kami!"

A light knock came at the door, and then her mother was in the doorway. She moved to Kagome's side the second she saw her tears, and gently began caressing her face.

"Sweety, how are you feeling?"

Kagome began to shake, pressing Shippo tighter to her neck.

"I… I don't think I can go back to the Sengoku Jidai, mama," Kagome said, voice weak.

Shippo's eyes widened, but he made no comment, and her mother simply nodded.

"Something tragic must have happened. The cut on your leg was quite deep, and the bone was broken in three places. The burns weren't too bad though. You won't be able to go back until you're healed," she sighed.

"My leg's broken in three places!" she asked, staring down at her blanket-covered leg. She didn't feel a thing.

"The doctor gave you some powerful pain medicine. They said that the surgery was best done as quickly as possible."

"I was in a hospital! How long have I been unconscious!"

"It's been four days, Kagome. The doctor said that you were physically fine, besides the leg, and let me bring you home this morning."

Kagome went through the horrors that she'd witnessed what felt mere hours ago, and the tears slowly trickled to a halt.

"So how long will I be in recovery?" she asked, nuzzling Shippo's neck for comfort.

"They said you should be able to move around again in a month, if the surgery works and you rest."

Kagome nodded, eyes wide.

"Well, this is a hell of a 19th birthday present," she said sullenly. "But anyways, have you met Shippo, mama?" she asked, distracting herself.

At that, her mother beamed, petting Shippo's head.

"Yes, I have. He's a wonderful grandson," she said, smiling happily. "At least I got to meet him as a result of… whatever kind of trauma happened on the other side of the well."

"I suppose so… Well, I might as well help out with the shrine while I'm here. I might even apply to college ahead of time, mama," Kagome said, forcing herself to see the silver lining on what had become a black cloud that she could call her outlook on her future now.

"That's wonderful, Kagome!"

Shortly after, her mother left her, and Kagome found that she was thinking of her future in a whole new light. She really couldn't go back to the past. Eventually, she would have to, to slay Naraku and finish the Shikon, but she didn't know how safe it would be to come out on the other side.

A sudden, burning anger flooded her as she realized that the horrors that had befallen her wouldn't have happened if Inuyasha and Kikyo had been there to help. The incarnation had attacked only an _hour _after they'd left to search for any stray jewel shards.

And now, the Shikon was the only thing keeping her tied to the past, with the ruins that her village there had become and Shippo being on this side. Tears beginning anew, Kagome fell asleep, her kit the only comfort to her right then.

Her last thought before she fell asleep was a soul-deep dread. With something so horrific happening so quickly, it was surely a sign of things to come. Something big was on the horizon, and she didn't know whether she was up to the challenge…

A/N:

Sengoku Jidai- The Warring States Era of Japan

So, this is my new fanfic! For those of you who've read my previous works of New Life and Mayakashi, this is a little different, with a plot that I made from some ideas I had that never made it into those fics and a different kind of characterization of the characters. And for new readers, welcome, and I hope you enjoy the ride! See you next time!


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Violence

New Beginnings

Kagome swept the broom, sighing heavily. It was a slow, hot day, and the area the cast had been was still itchy as all hell.

It had been two weeks, and true to her overworking nature, she was already up and walking on the damaged leg, her cast gone days ago. She wasn't moving fast, but it was still half the time the doctor had predicted. She couldn't help a slight, smug smile at that thought.

The smile then quickly vanished when she remembered how she'd gotten the injury. It had been two weeks, and the knowledge of what she'd barely escaped was only slightly less painful.

And tending the shrine, while being helpful to her aging grandfather, wasn't a fun job at all. Especially with her grandfather and mother being in the city shopping, and Souta being in school. If she'd had the heart to wake Shippo, she would've probably been much less bored, but it wasn't likely. She was thoroughly bored, but she wasn't going to let that get her off guard.

She'd woken up that morning with a feeling of absolute terror, and she somehow knew that something was going to happen today. Which is why she had her bow and quiver of arrows lying in wait for when she needed them.

Nothing happened throughout the day, besides a few fidgety ravens, and Kagome came out of a nearly comatose state when her mother returned. And just as her mother and grandfather went inside to unload their purchases, the sense of dread hit her _hard_.

She felt an ominous aura ascending the steps to the shrine, and forced herself to be calm behind the sales stand.

The body attached to the aura appeared then, and Kagome had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. The man stood at just shy of 6 feet, and he had a long curtain of snow-white hair. The hair matched the odd, ornate half-mask that was pressed tightly onto the left side of his face, and his skin was the color of sand. If not for the hair, he could've appeared to be her age, with a large, muscular build and strange cockiness to him.

The man was practically _oozing _a strange, youki-like energy, his aura potent enough that she was finding breathing hard as he approached, a single black eye focused intently on her.

And then, he was in front of her, and she forced herself to act oblivious as he assessed her.

"Excuse me, madam, but could you tell me where I might find the owner to this shrine?" he asked, voice a deep timber.

"Oh, sorry, sir. They're out in the city right now. What can I help you with?" she asked, gingerly standing.

"I was wondering about a certain rumored artifact in their possession."

"Oh? Well, it's a shrine, so they have a lot of artifacts, I'm sure. Is there something specific you're looking for?" Kagome asked, impressed with her acting ability while not shuddering and grabbing her bow in his presence.

His eye narrowed slightly, and she held herself ramrod straight.

"And who might you be to this shrine, miss?" he asked, a slight threat to his tone.

"Oh, I work here. You know, girl's gotta' get money somehow," she said with a false smile.

"I see… Well, this is a very special artifact I'm looking for. It's rumored to have the power to grant wishes."

Kagome involuntarily stiffened, and prayed that he hadn't noticed. From the way he was glaring, he had.

"Well, give me a sec. We've got just the thing!"

She forced herself to turn her back to him and grabbed one of her grandfather's fake, glass Shikon no Tama replicas that he sold.

"Is this what you're looking for?" she asked, handing him the glass ball.

With a glare, he palmed it, and she winced at the sound of breaking glass.

"No. I'm looking for the real Shikon no Tama. You obviously know of it, girl. Don't test my patience. Where is it?"

"Is this a robbery?" Kagome asked with wide eyes, reaching for her bow where it lay against the stand's side.

"In a matter of speaking, I suppose it is," he growled, a jagged, wickedly curved black scimitar flashing from his side until the point was inches from her exposed neck. "Now give me the jewel, or I'll kill you where you stand."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I have to inform you I've heard that threat from scarier than you," she stated, diving.

She came up with an arrow notched on the side of the stand, letting it fly for his side.

The man simply smacked the arrow away with his sword and growled as he advanced on her. She got up and began backing away before her leg proved that it wasn't completely healed.

She went down with a grunt, and he launched, pinning her with his sword poised to strike.

"Tell me where the jewel is, girl!"

"Nope. You shouldn't have put yourself this close, demon," she growled.

His eyes widened as her green orbs flared with brilliant, silver light. Her body began to follow suit, her aura becoming clearly visible under his body.

A strange warmth began to fill him, and then her arm was no longer pinned pressed to his chest.

With a growl, he swung his blade. As it came to within striking distance of her neck, her body flared with light.

And then, he was on his back, panting as smoke rose from his chest.

She shakily stood up, grabbing her snapped bow from where it lay.

"You broke my bow," she growled. "How the hell is a youkai even in this time, anyway?"

He sneered, pushing himself up with his sword, and his eyes narrowed.

"That was an impressive trick for a human. You won't get a second chance."

Power began to build around his body, and she felt a surge of ice go through her spine as the heat was leeched from the air.

Eyes wide, Kagome pulled on her power. She didn't expect to hit him before whatever he was charging up got her. And she was pleasantly surprised when she did, a starburst of silver energy lancing into his chest.

With a choked gasp, he was gone, her power blasting him to outside of her range of sensing.

With a glare towards her broken bow and the man's last location, Kagome turned and walked inside…

A/N:

Well, there's the first chapter. Hope you've enjoyed. Hope you leave your opinion, be it positive or not. See you next time!


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Protection

Kagome walked into the house, sending a glare over her shoulder with every step.

"Mama? What's going on? I felt something just now," Shippo said, appearing at the bottom of the stairs.

"A youkai just attacked, Shippo," Kagome said, kneeling down.

"_What_! There aren't any youkai here, are there?"

"I didn't think there were, besides the Soul Piper. But I guess I was wrong."

"What'd he want?" Shippo asked, eyes wide.

"The Shikon. I don't know what's going on, Shippo. But we need to go."

His eyes widened even more, and she gently ran her fingers through his fiery red hair.

"We have to go? Where?"

"Somewhere else. I think that if more youkai are around, they'll come for the jewel. And I can't put mama, gramps, or Souta in danger."

"Okay…"

Suddenly, a throat cleared, and Kagome actually_ jumped_ before turning to see her mother, white as a sheet and a worried cast to her glance.

"A youkai? In the modern era? Do you really need to go, if you beat him?"

"Yeah… I… I'm not safe. At least, not here. I think that my miko qi radiates while I'm comfortable at home, and if there are youkai around, then I'm like a big lure. I can't put any of you in danger," Kagome said sadly. "Mama, do you think you could call in a favor for me?"

"Sure, honey. What do you need?" her mother asked, eyeing her daughter with a mixture of nervousness and fear.

"I… need you to call uncle. He's got a house in a town that's close to here, but far enough to keep you guys safe."

At that, her mother's eyes widened, and she took a deep breath.

"I know things are… tense, between you and him. But he's really the only other family there is, and I think maybe going to a more scenic town for a while might be a good way to adjust being here for good… Can you call?" Kagome asked, Shippo taking notice of her obvious discomfort.

"Of course I can make a call, Kagome. But you should know that it won't necessarily go well."

"I know, mama. But it's better than the other options. If my leg wasn't broken, it wouldn't be a problem, but I almost got into trouble out there because of it."

"You don't need to protect us, Kagome," her mother admonished.

"Yes. Yes, I really do," Kagome huffed. "Gramps's charms don't really work, and I can't let myself let you guys get hurt… I… I couldn't watch if any more people got hurt because of me…"

Kagome bit her tongue, forcing herself not to cry.

She wasn't ever going to look weak again, if she could prevent it. Slowly, she regained her composure, and met her mother's eyes.

"You don't have to talk to him. Just call him, and I'll talk," she sighed. "I know how uncomfortable it is. And I wouldn't ask you to do it, but that demon that just attacked was strong."

After another few seconds, her mother finally nodded and grabbed the nearby phone.

"Are you sure you need to get away? I don't want you to leave here because you think you need to protect us, Kagome."

"I know. And I do need to… Maybe being away from the well for a while will make going back easier, after I've recovered."

With a sigh, her mother dialed. After a while of silence, with Shippo looking between Kagome and her mother in confusion, she visibly tensed.

"Hello, may I speak to Doctor Ishida? Who's calling? I'm his sister-in-law," she said, glaring straight ahead with a strange glimmer to her eyes.

Kagome'd never actually seen her mother have this kind of expression before, and she couldn't for the life of her name it. But it was obviously a sign of unpleasant thoughts.

"Hello, Ryuken… To be honest, I'm actually surprised that you took my call."

Kagome heard a terse, deep voice on the other end of the phone, and her hands involuntarily tightened.

"Yes, I have a reason for calling."

Kagome put out her hand, and reluctantly, her mother handed her the phone.

"Well? What's the reason? You're spending my time that I could be using to help sick people," a deep grumble rolled from the speaker.

"Hello, Uncle Ryuken," she said, tone surprisingly calm considering what she knew of the uncle she'd met only once before.

"Well, this is a surprise. Is that Kagome?" he asked, voice slightly less frigid.

"Yes. Listen, Uncle Ryuken… I was wondering if I could possibly stay with Uryuu for a while."

"Well, that's surprising. Why would you want to stay with that idiot?"

"I… might have a stalker," Kagome said, realizing that youkai trailing her may not be the best choice of reasons. And, she reasoned, it was _technically _true, since she knew she hadn't seen the last of that demon.

"A stalker?" he asked, surprised out of his cold attitude.

"Yes… I need to stay away from everyone for a little while," she said, decidedly avoiding her mother's speculative stare.

"Well, I don't see why not. But he's not going to listen to a damn thing I tell him, so you need to get him to let you."

"Thank you, Uncle Ryuken," Kagome sighed.

"Be sure to stop by the hospital," he said in way of goodbye.

Kagome put the phone back on the receiver, and lifted Shippo.

"I think this might work out. I mean, if I can get Uryuu to let me stay with him for a while… I guess it's off to Karakura Town."

"You're going right now?" her mother asked, distraught.

"No. I'll leave after dinner. And it's not like I'm moving to another city. It's only ten miles away… But ten miles should be enough to keep whatever else might show up away from here."

"Okay, I suppose. Are you going to be okay with your leg?"

"Oh, yeah. I just won't push it," Kagome said with an air of nonchalance.

"Alright… And Kagome, where did you learn to lie like that?" she asked, frowning.

"Well, it's technically the truth. I have an individual following the jewel, which is kind of like stalking," she said defensively. "I'm going to go pack."

Nodding, her mother let her go upstairs and get packing for a while.

"Mama, what's happening?"

"My dad's brother runs a hospital nearby, and his son lives in a small town close by. I'm going to go there for a while. Hopefully nothing exciting will happen, and that youkai will stay away from my family."

"So, I get to meet more of your family?"

"Yep. Who knows? Maybe a little vacation on the countryside will make this pain go away, when I don't have to see the well every day," she mused, packing her clothes into a thick duffel bag.

He gently hugged her neck, and she finished packing. Two hours later, she was on her bike with Shippo on her back and heading, at a very slow rate to protect her still-healing leg, for what she hoped would be a nice, relaxing place to recover.

And yet, as she peddled, she got the strangest feeling that she couldn't be guessing more incorrectly…

A/N:

For the record, Ryuken=Ryuken Ishida, Uryuu's father for people who never paid attention the one (or so) times it was mentioned in the manga.

And so, we begin the story. Hope you enjoyed the drama, and will continue reading onward. Be sure to leave your opinions, be they positive or not. See you next time!


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language

Karakura Town

Kagome peddled slowly, taking in the beautiful scenery around Karakura Town.

"So, I get to meet your cousin?" Shippo asked, staring down at the water system with wide eyes.

"Yep!" she replied, a wistful smile forming.

"What's he like?"

"Well, he's a year younger than me, and he's always been serious. But I've really only met him twice before."

"Why's that? Aren't you family?"

"Yeah… My dad and Uncle Ryuken didn't get along, and he doesn't really like any of us… But I met them when I was in Uncle Ryuken's hospital, which I didn't know until I heard him and mama fighting… Then when I was older, I was on a field trip with school, and ran into him again while I was studying medicine. He really wasn't mean or anything like that."

"Huh… what's a field trip?" he asked, frowning.

"Umm… Did you see those big machines that we've been passing?" Kagome asked, figuring that if she really _was _here, in the present, then she should help her kit get used to the time.

"Yeah. They're scary. They kinda' remind me of Renkotsu," he said with a shudder.

"Oh, don't worry about that. They're not nearly as dangerous," Kagome said, petting his head comfortingly. "They're called cars. They're… kind of hard to explain, actually. But they're fast ways to transport groups of people. Schools in this time sometimes take groups of children on really big cars called buses to places of interest. And that's what I was on when I went to his hospital, when I was thirteen."

"That's so cool!"

Kagome was about to respond when suddenly, a dark wave of energy pulsed through the air. It wasn't youki, but it was certainly not a human energy. It was actually kind of like a weak version of the energy the strange man that had attacked her had had. And it was thick enough with evil to make her choke for air. The distraction made her feet stop peddling.

It wasn't a long break, but it was long enough.

With a squeak, she grabbed Shippo and her bag and jumped, just as her bike hit the edge of the road and skidded down the hill. When it finally came to rest, it was thoroughly bent, and Kagome and Shippo were covered in dirt.

"Oh, crap, my bike," Kagome grumbled, standing up and letting Shippo do the same. "What the heck was that energy?" she added, looking around as though the source would suddenly pop up with a flashing neon sign.

Instead, she saw a silhouette standing in the direction of the sun, running towards her. The energy coming off of the figure was similar to what she'd felt, but it was considerably less grating on her nerves.

Finally, the figure reached her, and she found herself staring at the man before her.

He was tall and muscular, body wrapped in denim and leather. A pair of serious, concerned brown eyes examined her, and a head of thick, shaggy orange hair caught the sunlight, nearly blinding Kagome.

Fortunately, he didn't seem to notice Shippo at all, so the baseball cap and sweatpants she'd outfitted her kit with were obviously working.

"Are you alright?" he asked, voice a deep rumble. "That was a hell of a spill you just took."

"Oh… Um, yes, I'm fine. Thank you," she said, blushing for reasons beyond her comprehension as he gave her a speculative look.

"You sure?" he finally asked after seeing she really didn't have any injuries.

"Yep, I'm fine… But my bike's trashed," she sighed, glaring down at the twisted metal. "And now I've got to walk to someplace where I can find someone," she added.

"That sucks," he agreed. "Who're you lookin' for? Maybe I can help."

"Oh, that'd be wonderful!" Kagome exclaimed. "I'm looking for Uryuu Ishida."

His speculative glance grew worse somehow, and he frowned slightly.

"Uryuu? I didn't know he had a girlfriend."

"Oh, no, I'm not his girlfriend," Kagome said, eyes wide and face deep red. "But you know him?"

"Yeah. Give me a sec."

He pulled a notepad from the bag that she just now noticed hanging from his shoulder, and after quickly scrawling something down, handed her the paper.

"Those are directions to his house from here. Don't know if he's there or not."

Smiling, Kagome took the paper, eyes bright.

"Thank you so much!"

"If you want, I can probably help you get that bike fixed," he said, looking down at the broken scrap metal.

"It's beyond saving," she sighed. "Anyway, I really need to see Uryuu. Is there anywhere nearby that I could scrap it?"

"Umm… Not really. You sure you can't fix it? It looks like it might be salvageable."

She gave the bike another considering look before shaking her head.

"Nah. The frame's bent. I mean, it _could _be fixed, but I don't have money or time."

"Well, if you don't want it, I'll take it off your hands," he said, grinning.

Smiling against her will, Kagome gave a nonchalant shrug before starting her walk to her cousin's house.

"Take it. If you want it, it's yours."

"Thanks. Good luck, Ms…?"

"Kagome," she said, turning and extending a hand. "And you?"

He grinned, shaking her hand with vigor. Of course, Kagome couldn't help but notice the electric surge that traveled up her arm the second they made contact, but she forced herself not to show it. But from the slight arch of his eyebrows, she'd either shown or he felt it too.

"Ichigo. Nice meeting you, Kagome."

With a nod, Kagome took off, pleasantly surprised when her leg didn't even give the slightest twinge of discomfort. After several minutes of a trek, she felt eyes on her and looked up to a smirking Shippo hanging on her shoulder.

"You forgot I was here, didn't you?"

"What!" she asked, turning beet red. "Of course not!"

"Coulda' fooled me," he said, snickering.

Giving him a playful smack on the head, she continued walking, fighting the heavy blush burning her face.

"Anyway, he was nice enough to give me Uryuu's address," she said, looking up at the house before her.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked. And then she waited. And waited. And waited, until nobody responded after five minutes.

"Looks like no one's home," she sighed.

"Well, maybe he's in town?"

"I don't think I'd necessarily recognize him on sight," she groaned, scratching his chin and grinning when he gave an animalistic purr. "I think maybe we should go see the town, and then we'll come back later. I know the address now."

With a nod to herself, she set off.

She found herself drawn to the edge of town, to a massive bridge where energy was broiling thickly in the air. She sat down on a bench, giving her leg a reprieve. It hadn't even started to give any signs of discomfort yet, and she was impressed with herself, but she didn't want to overwork it and break it again.

Shippo groaned, eyes wide and ears moving visibly beneath the baseball cap.

"There was a lot of fighting on this bridge, wasn't there?" he asked, voice tight.

"Yeah… Lots of activity," Kagome sighed. "But look down there," she added, taking her mind off the pain that was almost palpable in the air.

He followed her gaze over the banister to find a glowing reflection of them, their eyes shining up at them. A grin broke across his mouth and he let out a laugh.

"It's so cool!" he cried.

"Yep. It's incredible," she sighed, smiling. "I wonder if the whole town's like this," she mused.

Grinning, Kagome stared down at her reflection. She felt the energy from before building up in the air around, and stared into the water, hoping to see the source's reflection.

And then, the water began to bubble. Slowly, waves began to run through the placid surface, rising in power and size with each passing second.

She had just enough mind to stand and jump to the other side of the bridge before all hell broke loose…

A/N:

Well, there's the newest chapter! Hope you're enjoying so far, and will continue to do so! Be sure to leave your opinion, be it positive or not. See you next time!


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Violence, Language

Monster

Kagome watched as the water beneath the bridge suddenly vanished. With a loud, echoing noise, a powerful force exploded up from the depths, bringing a wall of the water with it.

When the wave was gone, so was a circular portion of the bridge, right where she'd been standing. And to the side of the hole was… _something_.

It stood at almost 8' tall, with skin a color somewhere between gray and sickly green. It was hunched over on four spindly, spider-like limbs ending in claws. A hole was in the center of its massive, sinewy chest that went all the way through its body. And then, there was its head.

It had a strange, misshapen face, the actual face shorter than its neck and almost square in shape. On the bottom half of it was a depiction of a long, Cheshire Cat-like smile, with large, jagged, yet somehow blocky teeth. A pair of black and red eyes were in the sides of its head, making it resemble a frog, and both were glaring at her.

The energy that Kagome'd been feeling was now up close and personal, rising like a thick, cloying mist from the creature's form.

It wasn't necessarily strong, compared to other things she'd faced in the Sengoku Jidai, but it was freaking _huge_, and she didn't have her bow.

She could see the darkness rising from it, almost like a dead wave of bubbles.

Slowly, a cracking sound filled the air and Kagome tensed when the teeth painted onto its mask actually separated, revealing a large, cavernous mouth behind. The smell that left the creature made Kagome gag, and she slowly began backing up.

"What the hell is this thing?"

A long, sickly white tongue rolled from its mouth, licking the creature's fangs as its glow grew narrower. Its hunger was palpable, and she had the idea that it thought she was the main course of the evening.

"Mama?" her kit asked, tightening his hold on her shoulder.

"Shippo, get moving. We can't do much on this bridge, considering it just came out of the water," she stated, tone absolutely calm.

With a nod, the kit jumped from her shoulder and took off. And then, Kagome took a few more steps back and spun, pushing as much energy into her legs as possible. A loud, echoing roar filled the air behind her, and she felt the bridge shaking under its massive stomps.

She and her kit made it off the bridge and ran along a deserted road, every synapse of her brain chastising her for not getting a replacement bow before leaving the city.

This thing was going to _eat _her, and she would be at fault for not having something to channel her power through.

With a growl, she forced those thoughts from her mind, focusing on running from the thundering monster.

And then, they made a turn, hoping to evade it, and ran into an alley, a brick wall blocking the area.

With a growl, Kagome spun, Shippo following her back into the street.

"Shippo, can you use your kitsune-bi to distract it?" she asked, backing away from the rapidly closing-in monster.

"Maybe, but I don't think that thing'll get distracted," he said, eyes wide as he clung to her leg.

Looking around desperately, Kagome gave a small shout of joy and ran to the side of the street, picking up a loose piece of wood. And then, she turned back to face the creature, focusing her energy into the weapon.

"Mama?"

"It might not be a bow, but this should do nicely," Kagome stated confidently, hefting the now-glowing wood. "Stand back, Shippo."

With a nod, he ducked behind a wall, wide eyes watching around the corner. She tensed, every muscle tightening in preparation. And then, the monster was on her…

But a blur of shadows crossed her vision, and suddenly the beast was being held back by a group of people.

She quickly took in the appearance of the people in the group, all of whom radiated power of varying levels of awe-inspiration.

There was the tall, dark man in a wife beater, his arms flaring with black and white energy that made a corona around the rest of his body. Or the orange-haired girl, whose head was _literally _surrounded by a halo of light. And the black-haired girl who was holding a sword, a fierce glare on her face and an icy energy sweeping from her in waves.

But even more impressive were the others. One was Ichigo, his entire body now flaring with energy that she hadn't seen before and a massive black sword glowing in the daylight in his hand. And next to him was a tall, familiar-looking man with bluish-black hair and glasses, dressed all in white and wielding a crackling bow of blue energy.

For a brief instant, her great confusion was replaced with envy at being able to do that, but then she focused on the snarling behemoth they were facing.

Its eyes swept over them all before settling on Kagome, mouth curling in what could almost be called a sneer, if it weren't so grotesque.

"_Je-wel_," it rasped, tongue flicking out.

Kagome pressed a hand to the jewel for reassurance before returning to her grip on the wood. The people in the group obviously noticed her standing there, but only Ichigo and the man next to him seemed to _actually _notice her.

"_Give-me-the-je-wel_," the creature again rasped, glaring death at her.

She met its glare, her power intensifying. So the creature had followed her for the Shikon. She was _not _going to let it get the jewel, even if it killed her.

Without any warning, it leapt, clearing over the group and coming right for her. Kagome brought the wood up, but it barreled into her and the wood gave with a loud snapping sound, the smell of burning flesh suddenly coming from a small, smoking area on its chest where it'd hit.

Its glare took on a new intensity, a low snarl coming from its throat as it bore back, preparing to strike.

"Shit!"

Kagome dove backwards, and her leg decided that _then _was a good time to remind her it was, technically, injured. A sharp stab of pain flooded her limb, and she went down, smacking hard into the ground as it lunged for her.

She quickly brought up all of her power, eyes narrowed as it approached. But before it reached her, a ball of fiery red energy pummeled it in the side, and it was flung wide, smashing into the ground several feet from her.

It quickly recovered but so did Kagome, and it clearly saw the small sheen of silver energy crackling on her palms.

"C'mon, make my day," she hissed, making its eyes widen.

It then lunged, clearly not caring for its own life. As it made the halfway mark to her, Kagome made the realization that this _wasn't _a youkai, and she had no idea if her powers could actually do anything. The damage she'd done wasn't smoking anymore, and she didn't want to see underneath it to get a picture of what she'd done to it.

But before it reached her, a blur whipped past her, and suddenly the creature was on the ground in halves, smoke rising from its body and a gurgling hiss rising. Kagome's eyes moved to her savior to find Ichigo standing with his sword covered in the creature's blood, glaring at her.

"We meet again," he said with a grin that took away the edge of his glare. "So, you can see me. And Hollows. So what are you?" he asked, sheathing the blade in a cloth.

"What?" she asked, frowning.

Suddenly the others were around them, and Kagome let her energy release into the air quietly, making no sign that it'd been there.

"Well, whatever," he sighed, still glaring. "You should've run away. That's the usual response to seeing monsters, especially in this town."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Kagome sighed.

She felt eyes on her, and turned to find the dark-haired man glaring at her.

And then, she _really _looked at him, and her eyes widened.

"Wow! _Uryuu_!"

At that, his eyes widened, and she grinned. It was an odd way to meet her cousin again, but considering her life, it could've gone worse…

A/N:

Kitsune-bi- fox fire

And so, the first real fight! Hope you enjoyed! Be sure to leave your opinions, be they positive or not. See you next time!


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language

Family Reunion

"Uryuu!" Kagome exclaimed, eyes wide.

Uryuu stared at her, a deep frown on his face.

"Yeah. Who the hell're you?"

She glared at him, watching as his eyes seemingly catalogued her every feature. And when they reached her face again, his eyes widened almost comically.

"What the hell? _Kagome_?"

"That's my name," she said with a wide grin.

"What the hell're you doing in Karakura Town?" he asked, frowning.

She felt a slight sting from that, but forced herself not to show it.

"I need to talk to you," she sighed.

"And you couldn't have just called?"

"Well, not really… It's complicated. I need to talk to you," she repeated, glaring.

Suddenly the two realized the others were staring at them, and Kagome felt a blush creep onto her face. She was only slightly elated that his was darker in the bright mid-day sunlight.

"Umm… Hello," the orange-haired girl said with a smile. "I'm Orihime, and you are?" she asked, extending her hand.

"This is Kagome Higurashi," Uryuu stated, an odd mix of emotions in his voice. "My cousin. Well, let's talk, then," he sighed, turning and walking away.

Quickly giving Orihime a hand shake, she whistled and when Shippo was back at her side, she took off after her cousin, leaving a group of stunned people staring after them.

They walked for several minutes, Kagome slightly limping, before they reached a nearly deserted road.

And then, he turned to her, and his gaze was intense.

"Okay, Kagome. Let's talk. Why're you here?" he asked, frowning. "No offense, but you showing up out of the blue's kind of unexpected. You showing up when a Hollow pops out of nowhere is suspicious."

He looked up at Shippo, perched on Kagome's shoulder, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"I wanted to check out the countryside during my break before med school starts. Oh, and I brought my son," she said, scratching his chin again.

"Umm… Okay… Wait, son! What the-"

"And, I was wondering if I could stay with you while I'm here," she forged on. "I mean, I could get a hotel, but really, all I've got on me is this bag and him," she said, hefting the bag for effect. "So, do you think I could?"

"Huh?" he asked, clearly still processing what she'd said.

"Could I stay with you? While I'm on break?" she asked, feeling a twang of guilt about lying like this.

"Uh, sure, I guess," he said, frowning in thought. "But, let's go back a little. Your _son_?"

Smiling, Kagome felt Shippo climb down to stand at her feet, gently holding her hand.

"I'm Shippo," he said proudly, grinning.

With a warm smile, Kagome realized it was truly amazing how he really _was _still a child, considering all that they'd been through.

"I see... And, how old are you?" he asked, adjusting his glasses and looking from Kagome to her kit with wide eyes.

"I'm 7," he said with a grin.

"_7_! Kagome-"

"He's my _adopted _son," Kagome said, cutting him off. "But, he _is _my son," she continued, running her fingers up and down his neck until his whole body shook against her.

"Adopted? What the hell, Kagome?"

"When I turned 18," Kagome said with a grin.

Of course, what she left out was that she'd adopted him by _youkai _law, not humans', but that she felt no guilt over.

"So, you have a kid at 19. And dad says _I'm _an idiot," he groaned.

"I can handle it," Kagome growled. "But anyway, what've you been up to in the last 6 years?"

Something flashed across his eyes, and he turned to glare up at the sun.

"Some interesting things have been happening. And it seems you've had some interesting times, too."

"Oh, you could say-"

He turned back to her and she cut herself off at the expression in his eyes.

"I saw your hands. You hurt that Hollow. And you're not exactly low-key in all that energy you're pouring out."

Her eyes widened, but she made no other sign of her surprise.

After a small eternity of thought, Kagome decided lying wasn't a good strategy here. For one thing, she didn't think she could, and for another, there was the fact that she'd seen him with a giant bow of condensed energy, getting ready to fight that monster.

With a small sigh, she met his almost accusing gaze.

"Okay, you got me. So, I've got power. But you're not exactly low-key, yourself," she added with a grin. "Guess being above average is in the family genes."

Now _his _eyes widened, but he recovered more quickly than she had.

"Well, now, I guess it does. Just don't go drawing in a bunch of Hollows while you're here, okay?"

At that, she shrugged, smiling apologetically.

"Sorry. I don't know how. It kind of comes and goes at will."

"You don't have training with all that crap that's coming from you?" he asked, aghast.

"So what? They've always worked when they needed to," Shippo supplied, reminding them of his presence.

"That's true. We're still alive."

"How long are you going to be around?" Uryuu asked, eyeing her curiously.

"Well, I've got enough clothes to last me about a week. I'm hoping by then I'll have found an answer I really need," she said mysteriously.

"Huh… So, a week… Well, I've got nothing but free time, save for my part-time job. You want some training, cousin?"

Kagome's mind filled with all the possibilities available if she didn't need a physical bow ever again, and a bright smile spread across her face.

"That would be _great_! Would you, Uryuu?"

"Sure… Well, let's go get you settled in. I've got a while before I need to go in," he said, turning.

Still grinning, Kagome followed her cousin. Things were looking up. And yet, the feeling of foreboding running through her was like a constant electrical charge, always on the edges of her consciousness even while distracted with temporarily moving into Uryuu's house…

A/N:

And another chapter! I hope that you've enjoyed to this point, because I'm still working on the plot of the series, and so after the first day of putting this up, it might take a little while longer for updates to come. As always, be sure to leave your opinions, be they positive or not. See you next time.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Angst

New World

"Mama, can I go explore the village?" Shippo asked, waking Kagome up with a jolt.

"Hn? What?" she asked, turning to her son, who was smirking.

"Can I go and play in the village?"

Kagome sat up, petting his hair as she blearily rubbed sand out of her eyes.

"It's a town, not a village… It's not like the villages back on the other side of the well, Shippo… It might be a good idea if you just stick with me for today."

"But aren't you going to be trying to figure out a way to control your powers with your cousin all day? That'll be boring to watch," he complained.

"Hmm… Well, I can see your point. But there's a lot more to worry about in the modern era than on the other side of the well. I don't want to let you get too far, here, because things are a lot more confusing in modern day cities."

"The air here smells cleaner than near your house. I'll be fine," he said, puffing out his chest and smirking. "Besides, if Bakayasha could get around here, then so can I," he added.

Her eyes went as wide as a deer in headlights, and he gasped when he realized it.

"Oh, mama, I'm sorry," he said, eyes almost comically wide.

"I'm sure he's alive," she said with a shrug. "Us being on this side of the well was caused by the incarnation's death. And Kikyo could take it if it didn't really die when it blew up," she added, a sad tremor creeping into her voice.

"So, are we going back?"

"We have to, eventually… And I don't want to make you lose your home," she sighed.

"My home is where you are, mama," he said, eyes wide.

In response, she pulled him to her chest, raining kisses onto his head.

"You're _so _sweet," she cooed, tickling him until he was shaking with laughter. "Anyway, I'll teach you a few things about the modern era. If you can show you know them, I'll let you go on your own, okay?"

His eyes widened, and she couldn't help but laugh at the happiness there.

"Okay!" he chimed excitedly…

Kagome sighed, her cousin's footsteps nearly identical in rhythm to her own.

"So, you let him go on his own?" Uryuu asked, frown apparent in his tone.

"Yeah. Shippo's a smart kid. And he's got _really _good instincts. I'm sure he'll be fine. Besides, I'll know if he's in trouble," she finished mysteriously.

"He's only seven. How smart can he be?" Uryuu scoffed.

At that, she turned and smirked, glaring playfully at him. Finally, he broke out into a blush, and looked away.

"I'm an exception," he practically growled when she started giggling.

"Hmmm… Maybe. Then again, maybe that runs in the family, too. I was out a ridiculous amount of time from high school, and I still got good enough grades to get accepted into med school."

"Yeah, I think that _does _run in the family. So, I'm not usually a social person, but do you want to cover what's happened since I saw you when I was twelve?"

"Hmmm… If you can take me somewhere good for lunch, I'll do it in a heartbeat," she said with a smile.

Fifteen minutes later found them in a small, cozy fast food restaurant and fully sated.

"Wow. I've never been to a fast food restaurant that had such good food!" Kagome sighed, glaring when she found him smirking. "What?"

"It's just fast food, Kagome."

"Yeah, well let's say I haven't had a lot of opportunities to have it since I was 15," she growled. "So, where do you want to start?"

"Well, how about when you realized you weren't an average human?" he asked, eyeing her curiously.

Kagome began to respond when she felt energy sources enter the building. She turned to find the people from yesterday, and for an odd moment, she met a surprised-looking Ichigo's eyes. Then the group veered towards them, and Kagome couldn't help but notice the strange look that entered Uryuu's expression as Orihime came to a stop.

"Hello!" she exclaimed brightly. "Are you enjoying Karakura Town?"

"Haven't seen much of it, yet. Uryuu was just showing me around."

"And except Orihime, you haven't been formerly introduced," Uryuu said, turning slightly pink. "Sorry about that. Sado Yasutora, Rukia Kuchiki, Ichigo Kurosaki, this is my cousin," he said, pointing each one out in turn.

"Nice to meet you," Rukia stated, a slightly cold glint to her eye as she took Kagome in.

"I prefer Chad," the big, burly man said, offering his hand, which Kagome promptly shook.

"And of course we already met," Ichigo stated, smirking. "That bike's going to make a hell of a birthday present for my sister Karin, when I fix it up."

At that, Kagome smirked, pretending not to notice the glare now focused on her from Orihime.

"That's good. But if you fix that thing, I'll be impressed."

"So, you've met Kurosaki before?" Uryuu asked, frowning.

"Yeah. Actually, he's the one that gave me directions to your house… except you weren't home when I went there," Kagome sighed. "I trashed my bike on the way in, and he took it off my hands for me."

"Huh… Well, you ready to go? I think that Ryuken probably wants to talk to you," Uryuu stated, standing up.

"You know, you really shouldn't be so disrespectful to your dad," Kagome said with a frown.

He simply shrugged, and began to head for the door.

"Well, it was nice meeting you all," Kagome said, following him.

There was a loud ringing sound as they left, and less than a minute of walking later, Ichigo was next to them, walking slightly fast.

"What do you want, Kurosaki?"

"Nothing. Just got a call. Dad needs some help with a patient… Think you could help?" Ichigo asked, frowning.

"What kind of patient?"

"I don't know. He just said he wanted me to see if you could come over. I'm not exactly a medical genius, so I don't think I can be of much use," Ichigo sighed.

After a moment, Uryuu gave a nod and began walking in the other direction.

"Think you could show Kagome around? And _not _hit on her?" he added, glaring at a now-smirking Ichigo.

"I think I can handle that. Thanks."

With another nod, Uryuu took off, and Ichigo began walking again, Kagome now at his side.

"So, my cousin's worried you're going to hit on me," Kagome stated. "Should I be?"

"Nah. Not my style," he said, smirking. "So, where do you want to go?"

"I have no idea. Uryuu was just going to give me a grand tour, I guess…"

"Hmm… Well, alright then. This way," he said, leading her down a side road.

After several moments of companionable silence, she felt his eyes on her, and then he laughed.

"I can't figure you out," he finally stated. "What the hell kind of powers do you have? I feel _something_, but I don't have anything else to go on."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kagome stated, though her heart was now beating doubletime.

"If you say so," he said, still smirking.

Illogically, Kagome found herself blushing, and forced herself to focus on the road ahead of her.

"So, are youkai a common thing in Karakura Town?"

"Semi-regular," he said with a shrug. "And did you say youkai? That thing yesterday was a Hollow."

"Looked like a youkai to me," Kagome said, frowning. "Care to explain, Mr. Karakura Tour Guide? You know, so I can know what to run away from and what not to?"

At that, he laughed, eyes focused on her with a strange expression.

"Alright, smartass. That thing was a Hollow. Youkai are myths, and Hollows are a kind of demon that is born from the souls of humans."

"Huh… Okay. Isn't that something you wouldn't normally just tell someone?" she asked, frowning.

"I figure that since you could see me last night, you know that telling people about anything you see will get you locked up in a psych ward. So, any other questions?"

"Yeah. What do you mean, I could see you last night? Why wouldn't I have been able to?"

"Because I was basically a ghost then. Hollows are hunted by Shinigami. A few years ago I was a kid that could see ghosts, and a Hollow attacked me and my family. I got saved by a Shinigami, and they gave me their power. And since then, I've been one."

"Uh-huh… So, you're a grim reaper?"

"Well, yeah, kind of," he said, grinning. "So, want to tell me how you saw me?"

"Well, I'm a miko, born to a shrine in Tokyo. I guess it's not really surprising that I'd have some kind of psychic weirdness," she concluded, the Shikon burning like an indicator of her guilt against her chest.

"Well, that's surprising. I didn't think mikos really had powers," he whistled.

"Not many do… I'm the only one I know. But it looks like it runs in the family."

"Yeah. So, how's it feel to be related to that gloomy guy?" Ichigo asked, smirking.

Before she could respond, a strange chill filled the air. As one, they both turned to watch a transparent girl running across the end of the street, letting out a series of hollow, echoing screams. As she made it halfway through the street, a mass of white formed.

"Damn," Ichigo cursed.

Suddenly, there was a pulse of energy, and Kagome turned to find a mind-bending thing. Ichigo was standing stock-still, frowning. And next to Ichigo was… Ichigo, in the black kimono from yesterday and holding the massive sword.

"Huh… Neat trick… Well, let's get going," Kagome stated, taking off before he could react.

"You're not chasing that thing," he stated, frowning.

"The hell I'm not. It's going to eat her," she growled.

"You think you can keep up with it? With that leg you're trying not to limp on?"

At that, she grabbed his wrist, and his smirk vanished.

"Alright. Then you can keep up, right?"

"Yeah. But you're not coming."

"And you want to leave me here if there's more of them?" Kagome growled.

After several seconds, he gave a sigh and then met her gaze.

"Leave the fighting to me, got it?"

Without hesitation, she nodded. And suddenly, an arm went around her waist, and before she could give protest, the ground was gone from beneath her feet.

When she touched down again, they were in a small construction site, and the girl was cowering before the Hollow.

"Hey, ugly!"

The Hollow stopped in its attack, slowly turning to face a fierce-looking Ichigo.

And then, its mouth turned into a sneer, and it launched for him, a roar leaving its body. In less than a second, it was over, and the Hollow was breaking down into ash, two halves lying on the ground.

The girl stared at Ichigo, eyes wide in horror.

"Please, stay away from me!" she cried, staring at his sword.

"Relax, kid. I'm going to send you to the Seireitei now," Ichigo said, raising the bottom of his sword to reveal a small, black stamp etched into the hilt.

"No! I don't wanna go!" the girl cried, turning to run.

"Wait," Kagome said, having moved to block the girl, no more than 8 in appearance, from running.

She knelt down to put herself on the girl's level, a sad smile on her face.

"Who're you?" the girl asked, glaring suspiciously.

"I'm Kagome. And you?"

"What's it matter? I'm dead!" the girl snarled.

"Dead's a state of mind," Kagome scoffed, making both the girl's and Ichigo's eyes widen. "My friend wants to send you to Heaven, so you can play with others like you."

Kagome didn't really think about what she'd said, but clearly being deemed a friend after only knowing her for a day made Ichigo feel good about himself, because he was now smirking. She focused only on the girl, slowly extending a hand.

"I don't wanna go! I want my mommy!" the girl cried, aetheric tears forming on her face.

"It'll be alright. Trust me, sticking around here will lead to bad things," Kagome stated gently.

"Bad things? What's worse than _dead_!" the girl practically snarled, glaring at Kagome.

"Well, I'll be honest… There's this big monster. It isn't as scary as the one that was trying to eat you, but it's terrifying in its own right. It drags lingering spirits to Hell… It's not a pleasant sight," she added, shivering. "So trust me, going on and enjoying the company of your ancestors will be much better for you."

"I don't wanna go to Hell! Please, save me, Mister!" the girl cried, turning to a stone-faced Ichigo.

With a gentle smile, he placed the hilt to her head, and she began to shimmer.

And then, she was gone, and Kagome glared down at the ground.

"You just scared an already-terrified girl. What the hell, Kagome?"

"You said that Hollows come from human souls, right? Well, I've seen worse things than them," Kagome stated, glaring at the ground. "I watched a little girl almost get dragged into Hell by the Soul Piper. Besides, she was scared and sad, and she was looking for a reason to pass on. I gave it to her," she added, rising.

As they began to leave, the Shikon suddenly turned into a ball of ice against her chest, and Kagome froze in place…

A/N:

And there's the next chapter! We're starting to get into the main plot, now! Hope you've enjoyed and will continue doing so. As always, be sure to leave your opinions, be they positive or not. See you next time!


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Violence, Language, Gore

Dread

Kagome grabbed at her chest, the Shikon making her teeth chatter. But then, she sensed the air to find what was causing the reaction, and spun, making sure she showed nothing was wrong to Ichigo.

It didn't take her long to find him. The man from her shrine suddenly formed from the shadows, a smirk on the visible half of his face.

Ichigo instantly went to her side, sword drawn and power flaring.

"Espada, you chose the wrong time to piss me off," he snarled.

In response, the man simply laughed, bringing his scimitar up to catch the afternoon light. The black blade gleamed wickedly, and he slowly began moving.

"We have unfinished business, witch," he growled, voice a deep rumble.

Ichigo went to block his path, but the 'Espada' simply vanished, reappearing seconds later in front of Kagome.

And then she was moving, dodging his vicious strikes like her life depended on it. Because, really, it did. He pushed her back with surprising force, nearly taking huge chunks out of her with every swing.

Ichigo acted, lunging for him with his powers flaring.

Surprising to both he and Kagome, though, the man turned and smashed his side with the blunt side of his sword. The Substitute Shinigami went barreling into the ground, his left arm shattering on impact.

And then, the man followed through, launching at a temporarily immobile Ichigo.

Kagome watched in horror as his blade slowly came down on her new friend's throat. Except, it never reached its goal.

Kagome took off with almost inhuman speed, taking the distance between them and her in one jump. The Espada was stunned when she appeared next to him, and he was _really _surprised when her fist came back and she smashed him in the face.

As soon as it made contact, her fist ignited with silver power, and the Espada was suddenly far away, his face heavily burned and bleeding.

Kagome stood tall, the power ripping itself free of the depths of her very soul. She was fairly certain her hand was broken, but she forced herself, somehow, to ignore it at the moment until death wasn't on the table.

"This is you and me. Do _not _think that you can hurt him, youkai bastard," she snarled, eyes slowly filling with a silver sheen.

As she walked purposefully towards the rising Espada, walls of silver fire rose from her feet, scorching the ground where she walked.

She felt Ichigo's stunned eyes on her, but ignored it with a little more effort than should've been needed.

"Aizen _will _have that jewel, or I'll die trying to get it," the Espada hissed, his sword flaring with energy.

And in a flash, he was on her. His attacks lashed out with unbelievable intensity, her newly released power giving her just the edge she needed to avoid them.

For several minutes, it was a deadly dance of attack and counterstrike, with the Espada losing footing more and more by the second as she lashed out with her miko qi.

And finally, he slipped up, and she moved. She threw a burning, fiery punch at where his heart would be. Just as she would've hit, he spun and deflected it with his arm, which immediately ignited in the fire and black smoke.

He gave a hiss of pure agony, but still managed to use his momentum to spin and lash out with his sword. Kagome felt it enter her leg, and fiery pain shot up her side.

With a groan, she kicked off of the ground, performing an inexplicably well-handled somersault before coming up, leg and hand bleeding profusely and her silver flames slowly dying out.

"That looks like it hurts," the Espada snarled, his burn marks slowly sealing.

"Maybe so, but I've had worse," she groaned, forcing herself to ignore the staggering amounts of pain radiating from the damage.

"Well, you _are _impressive, little girl," he sneered.

Suddenly, Ichigo appeared, his sword coming down so fast there were afterimages. The Espada moved away, but not nearly fast enough.

As he spun backwards, his arm fell to the ground, ichor falling from where it had been attached.

"That hurts," he growled, glaring death at Ichigo.

And then, the vision of his body blurred, and Kagome backpedaled, just as he appeared with a hand going for the Shikon, which had ceased being frigid.

Kagome reacted instinctively, a burning wall of her qi rising to life like a solid block against him. The Espada let out a scream as soon as he made contact, and he dove backwards, arm thoroughly singed.

"You _bitch_!" he snarled, staring down at his blackened flesh.

His hand crackled with how hard he was gripping his blade, and Kagome took a fighter's stance she'd seen Sango use many times over, preparing for a lot of pain.

"I'm going to take that jewel off of your corpse!" he snarled.

He dove for her, sword high in the air, and she tensed.

As his blade came down at her head, she ducked underneath and, using his temporary surprise, sent a powerful kick up with her previously damaged leg. It hit, and agony rushed through her like liquid fire, even as he barreled backwards through the air.

When he landed, he was on his feet, and now had an injury on his exposed stomach.

"Damnit! One girl shouldn't be able to do this," he snarled.

Suddenly, a hole ripped open in the air behind him, and he began backing away.

"My name is Zetsumei, and you'd better remember it, _Kagome Higurashi_. If you think you can get away with the jewel, you're in for a surprise," he hissed.

And then, he was inside the gap, and it, along with all of his energy and Kagome's ability to stand straight, were gone.

She sat for what felt like hours, staring at where he'd been. Zetsumei had called her by name. He knew who she was. And he was after the Shikon, under someone named Aizen.

Before she could puzzle out the latest drama in her life, she felt Ichigo stir, and her eyes moved to find him staring at her from mere inches away, both concern and irritation dancing in his expression…

A/N:

Zetsumei- Death

Hope you've enjoyed. As always, be sure to leave your opinions, be they positive or not. See you next time!


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language

Explanations

Kagome met Ichigo's stare blankly, the pain somehow seeming to leave her injuries.

"Hi," she finally managed to say, her breathing labored.

"Hey, you okay?" Ichigo asked, inspecting her critically.

"Umm… Yeah. Bleeding a bit, though," she sighed, looking down at her numerous wounds.

"You're lucky that that's all that happened. What the _hell_ was that about?" he practically growled. "That Espada wasn't after me. He went right for you. And you've got way more power than you were letting on."

"Yeah, I noticed that. I don't really think of myself as powerful, though, because whatever power I have is virtually useless, unless I'm probably going to die," Kagome sighed. "Also, it's kind of late in the game, but thank you, for saving my ass."

"You've been here a day, and got attacked by one Hollow that we couldn't find, and an Espada that knew you by name. Mind telling me why you're really here?" Ichigo asked, frowning.

"It's… complicated. What is that, anyway? An Espada?"

"It's kinda' hard to explain… Hollows like the one yesterday are pretty weak, compared to Menos Grande, which are collections of Hollows that have eaten others. There are three levels of those, and the top are the Vasto Lorde. If Vasto Lorde break the masks Hollows have that I'm sure you've noticed by now, they become Arrancar. And that guy was an Espada, and a strong one, going by the number five on his hand."

"What five?" Kagome asked, frowning.

"It was a tattoo on his palm. I saw it when I took his arm off. What I want to know is why he seemed to know you and why he was after you. But, most importantly, you avoided my question. Why're you here, in town? I got the feeling that you didn't stop by to give Uryuu a social call."

"You're pretty blunt, Ichigo," Kagome said, smiling sadly. "Kind of remind me of my first crush, actually. Especially with the sword work… Alright, so here's the thing. That guy, Zetsumei… I came here to get him away from my family. I didn't think he'd follow me, but having him around my regular, pretty much defenseless family would be bad for obvious reasons. So, I ran here… And now I wish I hadn't, because I've just moved the danger to another part of my family," she groaned, her tone absolutely miserable.

"What the hell was he after?"

"I have… a very special gemstone in my possession."

Ichigo's expression darkened slightly, and she found herself getting nervous the longer his gaze was locked on her.

"How the hell'd you steal the Hogyoku?" he finally asked.

In response, Kagome simply blinked in confusion and stared at him for several seconds before thinking to respond.

"What's a Hogyoku?"

Before the surprised Ichigo could respond, Kagome's head snapped around, and they both turned to stare at Uryuu, who was glaring death at her and was visibly pulsing with agitated energy.

"The Hogyoku, _Kagome_, is a gemstone created by an arrogant Shinigami, and it can literally warp reality. You're going to give me a _damn _good explanation."

Kagome was about to respond when she noticed all the other energies. Standing behind her cousin were Rukia, Orihime, and a strange man who had an almost terrifying amount of power. How she hadn't noticed so much power was concerning, and she _really _didn't want to know how long they'd been spectators to her display.

And, even more surprising, she felt a very familiar energy approaching mere seconds before her kit showed up, passing the speculative-looking onlookers and quickly climbing up and onto her shoulder.

"Hey, there, Shippo. Did you have a good time today?"

"I had lots of fun! And then, I felt youki nearby, and somehow I just knew you'd be here, mama," he said, grinning.

"Yeah, well, just my luck, I guess. Anyways, I don't know what the Hogyoku is, but it sounds like the jewel I have… er, actually, the jewel I have half of," she sighed.

She then lifted said jewel from beneath her shirt, and its power radiated throughout the entire site, warming her arm the longer she held it. From the way Rukia and Ichigo shivered, she was guessing that it wasn't producing the same effects for them, and quickly slid it back beneath her shirt.

"Well, here's a history lesson for you all. In the Sengoku Jidai, when youkai still roamed freely around the world, a priestess named Midoriko fought against hordes of demons that built themselves up by devouring each other. She fought for a long time, and in her dying breath, she sealed her soul, along with the three youkai she was facing, into a jewel, which was then protected throughout the ages by a powerful miko named Kikyo. Kikyo died, and her reincarnation showed up by pure coincidence, and in a move of legendary idiocy, shattered the thing into thousands of pieces. Feeling guilty, the priestess then took to traveling throughout Japan with several… ill-matched but oddly amenable friends, collecting the jewel shards with the hopes of putting it back together and wishing it out of existence."

"Well, that's a hell of a story," Ichigo said, eyes wide.

"Yeah… If only it was a story," Kagome mused, glaring at the ground and not realizing they'd heard her.

"Ah, actually, I know this story," the strange man said, smiling. "Supposedly, the young priestess was able to travel through time. And she apparently traveled with youkai and humans alike, meaning to get rid of the Shikon no Tama and kill a hanyo."

"Well, you know your history, don't you?" Kagome asked, surprised.

"Well, I would hope so. I made the Hogyoku based on the legend of the Shikon no Tama. And I'm very impressed that you're so good at saying that entire story as though it happened to someone else," he added, smirking while the others' heads widened almost comically.

"Oh? Well, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm sure," he laughed. "Y'know, part of the group she traveled with was a kitsune who was childish in appearance," the man stated, staring pointedly at a confused Shippo.

"You don't have a clue what you're talking about… And did you say you made something based on the jewel? Why the _hell _would you do that!"

"Well, it wasn't supposed to end up the way it did," he said defensively. "By the way, I'm Urahara," he said, grinning.

"Nice to meet you, I guess… Anyway, it was nice meeting you all. I guess I need to figure out someplace else I can stay now, so I can get rid of him," she stated, frowning in thought.

"That guy showed up again?" Shippo asked.

"Yeah… He's not nearly on Fluffy's level, but he almost killed me… And I can't let him get the jewel, because I'm sure that whoever he's working for is probably like Naraku."

"If you need to protect this jewel, whatever it is, there's a better solution than running," Uryuu stated, surprising her out of her revelry.

"Yeah? Well, okay, Uryuu, I'd love to hear it."

"Training you. Remember?"

"Train me? I'm not sure that working on my unstable power's going to make him go away" she sighed, thoroughly confused.

"You were putting out huge amounts of power. Even if you decide to run, you're pretty much a big, flashing neon sign. So I'll teach you to use your Quincy blood, so you can keep yourself in check or protect whatever it is," Uryuu sighed.

"Huh… Thanks. That sounds like something I could use. _Badly_. Maybe I'll stop getting close to dying, huh, Shippo?"

"Hey, we're family. Plus, I get to make you suffer a bit for not telling me why you were here in the first place and trying to make me a pawn," he added, grinning evilly.

And with that, it was decided…

A/N:

And so, the training of Kagome's powers will begin! Hope you've enjoyed and will leave your opinions on my work. See you next time!


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language

Prodigy

"Well, let's get started then," Uryuu said, taking a stance.

"Right here?" Kagome asked, surprised.

"Better here than someplace we'll be noticed."

"Alright, then," Kagome sighed. "Thanks for saving my ass, Ichigo," Kagome said before turning her full attention to her cousin, her kit leaving her shoulder.

"Well, we'd better get going. Bye, Uryuu!" Orihime said before taking off with an irritated-looking Rukia.

"I think I'll stay. Quincies have always intrigued me," Urahara said, moving to a small workbench and sitting with a wide grin.

"This might attract Hollows. Might as well stick around," Ichigo sighed, taking a seat where he stood.

"Whatever," Uryuu growled, glaring daggers at them. "But don't interfere, got it? Alright, Kagome, show me what you can do."

"What I can do?" Kagome asked, confused at his impatient look.

"With all that energy you have in you," he bit out.

"Oh… Um… Well, here's the thing. I've got tons of power, or so I've been told, but I… umm…"

"What?"

"I don't have the slightest idea how to control it," she said, smiling sheepishly as her face turned bright crimson and Urahara and her cousin stared at her in shock.

"What do you mean, you can't control it? You hurt that Espada just now," Uryuu said, glaring suspiciously at her.

"Well, yeah… See, here's the thing. Whenever I'm in danger, I just kind of… react. I don't really know how to control my powers, but my body goes on instincts when I'm fighting for my, or other peoples', lives," she said, getting more red by the second.

"It's true," Shippo added, grinning. "She can fry a youkai if it's coming after her, but she can't even make sparks when there's no danger."

"_Shippo_!" Kagome cried indignantly, whirling on him.

The kit simply smirked in response, shrugging nonchalantly.

"It's true, momma."

Suddenly, power flooded the air, and Kagome turned back to find her cousin holding a small, slender form of energy, which was rapidly growing as waves of light flooded his arm. With a sound like glass breaking, the form burst into light, and suddenly her cousin was wielding the bright bow of energy from before.

"Alright, then. If you can only do anything when in danger, let's put that to the test," her cousin said, lifting the bow and pretending to take aim at her.

But her eyes widened when suddenly, he really _was _holding a mass of energy in the form of an arrow, and he smirked slightly. He released the arrow, and it burst through the air, crackling and sizzling as it went.

Instantly, her body moved, her hand whipping out and catching the broad side of the 'arrow'. As soon as her hand made contact, the arrow made a slight sizzling sound, and then it was no longer in existence, Kagome's hand suddenly tingling from the pulsing energy that had made it up.

When she focused her glare on her cousin, she found an expression of shock and slight awe on his face.

"You shouldn't have been able to do that," he said, frowning.

"You shouldn't have shot at me," she responded simply.

In the next second, he had another arrow whizzing for her head, and she dodged this time, her ire rising.

But then, power filled the air, and ire turned to actual anger as she dodged arrow after rapidly fired arrow, in a series of hundreds. She dodged every single one, the entire time having no idea how she was moving so fast or so long.

And then, there was a very short lull in his arrows, and she went on the offensive, moving forward with every jump, roll, dive, and sidestep. He couldn't react fast enough as she dove into him, her hand going around the source of the bow.

She yanked on whatever it was and went into a roll, coming up panting, exhausted, and holding a small pentacle-shaped piece of jewelry.

She watched in irritation as her cousin stood, looking slightly stunned and yet stoic at the same time, dusting himself off before he looked at her.

"Can you feel the energy in that?" he asked, nodding toward the jewelry.

Kagome's frown deepened, but she realized with a start that she _could_, in fact, sense power surging from whatever the thing was.

"Yeah. What the hell-"

"Focus your energy completely on the cross," he instructed, frowning. "Ignore everything else."

"Look, Uryuu! I've trained with a monk and a very powerful miko, and no matter how patient they were, I could never calm myself enough to meditate. So _you _telling me to do it won't get anything to happen. And you just _shot _at me!"

"Maybe the problem was they didn't know you're part Quincy," he said impatiently. "And that means they didn't know that what you really need is guidance in energy manipulation."

Slowly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver vial for her wary eyes to behold.

"When I throw this, it'll explode. If you don't stop it, you'll be in pain for a _very _long time… if you're lucky," he stated calmly.

"You have a freaking _bomb_!" she asked incredulously. "First you shoot me, then you want to blow me up? What the hell kind of a cousin does that!"

"Well, it's simple. All you have to do is stop it from detonating," he said, with, damn him, an actual _smirk_.

"Oi, Uryuu, what the hell do you-"

"Shut it, Kurosaki," the Quincy growled. "Catch!"

Kagome's eyes widened when, with no warning whatsoever, her cousin pitched back and threw the volatile _whatever it was _at her.

Her world went blank for a second, and when she regained her senses, the vial was gone, a cloud of black and silver smoke in the place of where it had been in the air.

"Focus on your hand!" Uryuu barked.

Numbly, Kagome looked down. Shock overcame her as she found her hand ignited in a bow of silver energy, looking like a holy fire.

"Well, _Kagome_, congratulations," Uryuu stated calmly. "You're officially a Quincy. Or, at least, you've got the powers of one."

"I… What the hell!" Kagome asked, staring in shock at the bow.

"She's pretty fast," Urahara said in a low whistle.

"Damn straight," Ichigo said with equal awe. "Oi, Uryuu, what the hell were you thinking! What if she hadn't been fast enough?" he added, an incomprehensibly angry gleam to his eye.

"Shut it, Kurosaki. She's my cousin. Like hell something like that'd be enough to kill her. Especially after taking on that Espada," he scoffed.

Kagome focused on the still-dissipating cloud of smoke, and her eyes widened almost comically.

"Uryuu?"

"What?" he asked, turning his attention back to her.

"What the _hell_! There was barely any energy in that thing! You made it sound like I'd die!" she practically snarled.

"You noticed? Well, that's a good start. If you didn't believe in the danger, you wouldn't have reacted seriously," he said with a shrug. "Rest up, Kagome. Because tomorrow, your real training begins."

No words had ever made Kagome have such a sense of foreboding…

A/N:

And the newest chapter, ladies and gentlemen! Hope you've enjoyed, and will give your opinions, be they positive or not. See you next time!


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Confrontation

"I'm going to work," Uryuu sighed. "You've got your key, right?"

Kagome gave a dazed nod, and her cousin was gone in an _actual _flash, his body blurring slightly before he was no longer near them.

"Well, he's even being nice to family," Urahara said, bringing Kagome's attention to the two remaining men. "So then, tell me something… Kagome, was it? Is that really the Shikon no Tama you have there?"

Instantly she went on the defensive, eyes narrowing as she took in his appearance.

"Yes, it is. Does it matter?"

"Oh, I should say so," he said, standing up. "How much has Ichigo here told you about the Shinigami?"

"Enough to grasp the concept," she said with a frown.

"Fair enough. People born as Shinigami grow up in a dimension called the Soul Society. And they pay close attention to Karakura Town ever since Aizen planned to use it for… well, let's just say that he wanted something bad to happen. And you probably just became a huge blip on their radar."

Her hand closed around the jewel, eyes narrowing and teeth grinding.

"I'm not part of that, so you don't have to worry about that," he said suddenly, grinning ear to ear. "I just like messing with new people. But seriously," he said, face becoming shadowed and a bizarre somberness entering his tone, "be careful with that thing. And if legions of people in black robes holding swords show up at Uryuu's door, get the hell out."

"You think they'd hurt her?" Ichigo asked, eyes wide in surprise.

"I think that for even half of the Shikon no Tama, and what it could mean in their fight against Aizen and the Arrancar, they wouldn't hesitate to take it from her. Whatever that might entail," he added, still staring into her eyes.

Kagome, despite how much she hated herself for it, found herself actually _gulping_, her heart rate rising.

"I don't give a damn if they're _actual _grim reapers," she finally bit out. "I will _never _let this jewel be used for self-gain."

"Unless you get that Quincy blood flowing fast, I don't see much that you can do about it," he said with a damnably cocky grin. "They're not demons or Hollows, so you can't purify them, little miss priestess," he added, once again pulling an almost bipolar switch to seriousness. "Then again, maybe your son can do some magic tricks to distract them, if you don't have your powers open by the time they come for you. I know the story of the Shikon no Tama, in great detail, and I'd appreciate you not treating me like an idiot."

Kagome's hands clenched, taking a step towards him and pointing an accusatory finger.

"You made something based on the Shikon no Tama. You _are _an idiot," she hissed. "Do you know how much of a pain just _one _of these things is!"

"Ah, so we're not playing games anymore," he said with a smirk. "Good. I'll let you play the Quincy boy, but I'm kind of hard to fool. And Ichigo's not as dim as he looks," he added, smirk growing.

"Hey, what was that, Urahara!" Ichigo bellowed, eyes narrowed.

"Sorry, sorry," the older man said, laughing. "But you _do _look a bit… thuggish, Ichigo."

"I know what I look like," he growled. "But what the hell is this thing? Some kind of model for the Hogyoku?"

"Well, yeah, pretty much. Of course, since I didn't exactly have a bunch of powerful souls on hand when I made it, it's not anywhere near as powerful. Probably not even as strong as _half _of it, actually. But it works much more effectively."

"Let me get this straight," Kagome said, body starting to shake with her anger. "You made a Shikon no Tama that is good for more than one wish? Is that what you're telling me? Or that the wish is stronger?"

"Well, more like it boosts the desires of the owner into physical form. Not really a wish… But according to Aizen, it's what caused Ichigo and all of his friends to get powers and become involved in the Soul Society's business."

"Who the _hell _is Aizen? I keep hearing that name, but I have no idea who it is," Kagome growled.

"Ah, right… Well, it doesn't really matter. Our problem, not yours. But the thing is, he's got the Hogyoku, and he's almost as smart as me. And he's using it to build an empire to take down both Shinigami and humans. You met one of his frontmen, I think."

"Zetsumei?" Kagome asked, surprised. "That's what an Espada is? Some kind of super-demon enforcer for a psychopath?" Kagome asked, this one aimed at Ichigo.

"Well, you _do _pick up on things quick. Yeah, that's exactly what he is," Urahara stated calmly. "And that's why you seriously need to think of running back into the past, and staying there for a long time."

"I… I can't go back there," she said, finally deciding that acting wasn't worth the energy.

"So, you're really some kind of time-traveling demon-fighter?" Ichigo asked, eyes wide in shock.

"Umm… not so much. More like a girl who happened to fall into a mystical well and got wrapped up in a situation way over my head," she said with a shrug, blushing slightly. "And I got lucky, a _lot_, and I have… _had_ a lot of really great and powerful friends helping me the entire time," she added, sadness creeping up on her.

"So I've heard. So then, I'm dying to know," Urahara said, making no sign of having heard her tone, "was I right? The little guy's the kit that you traveled with, right?" he asked, staring at Shippo, who was now holding onto Kagome's leg.

"If you must know, yes, he is. His name's Shippo, and he's my son," she stated calmly, absentmindedly scratching said kit's ears.

"I see… Well, that makes you even more interesting, doesn't it, little miko girl?" he quipped, smirking. "Well, I'd better get going. I have a shop up the street from Ichigo's, if you ever want to have a chat, Kagome."

And then, he was gone, his body a large blur, and Kagome found herself frowning.

"Is he always so annoying?" she asked Ichigo.

He broke out of his introspection, a bark of laughter escaping him.

"Yeah, pretty much. You kind of have to get used to him," he laughed.

His mirth quickly vanished, and she felt a strange charge surge through her at the look he was giving her.

"So, is all of that true?"

"Unfortunately," she sighed. "Then again, if I hadn't gone through all this, I wouldn't have met Shippo," she said, bringing said kit up to her shoulder. "And thanks again, for saving my ass… I don't know how well that would've gone if you hadn't stepped in."

"It wasn't a problem. But you need to understand something. That guy, he's bad. He might not be as strong as the last ones we had to fight, but he was strong. And there are four of five Espada stronger than him. And if he'd released his Ressurecíon, it could've gotten ugly. So the next time you feel that guy, don't stick around to play."

"Thanks for the confidence," she mused. "Hopefully Uryuu's training will make me able to handle myself."

At that, he laughed, staring incredulously at her.

"You need to know something. Uryuu's vindictive as hell. You made him look bad in front of Orihime, and he's going to make you suffer for it."

Her eyes widened almost comically at that, mouth agape.

"What? I didn't know they're going out. Oh, crap! I would've tried to restrain myself, if I'd known."

"They're not. Dating, I mean. But that doesn't mean much. So watch your back," he laughed. "Well, it's been nice meeting you. I think having you around's going to make things interesting."

With another laugh, he was gone, and Kagome walked towards Uryuu's like an inmate taking the last walk…

A/N:

So, there's the newest chapter! Hope you've enjoyed the back-and-forth, because Urahara may or may not be important later on (smirks evilly). Well, as always, I hope you'll leave your opinions, be they positive or not. Especially since lengthy back-and-forth dialogue scenes are one of my writing weak points… See you next time!


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Quincy

Kagome awoke slowly, a strange pulsing of energy near her head jerking her to consciousness.

She quickly found the source to be a small, black velvet box lying on the desk next to her bed. Attached to the box was a small card simply signed _Uryuu_.

Curiosity peaked at what was inside, she quickly opened the box. Inside was a small, delicate-looking silver necklace in the shape of a sun with eight spokes in the center and a shortened bluish-white chain.

The second her skin made contact with the metal, power surged through her arm, making her yelp and jump back.

Glaring at it, she experimentally grabbed it again, and this time, it was considerably less shocking. With a curious frown, she left her kit and walked down to the kitchen.

She found Uryuu sitting at a small wooden table, seeming half-asleep, and grinned.

"Morning, cuz!" she yelled, making him jump and her giggle.

"Damnit," he groaned. "Morning, Kagome. Did you get the gift?"

"Yep," she said with a grin, letting the humming piece of jewelry hang from her palm.

"I see… Did you feel anything when you touched it?"

"Yeah. It feels like it's filled with electricity," she stated with a smile, taking the seat opposite him.

"Really?" he asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Nothing. It's just surprising that there's such a strong reaction," he said, looking at the jewelry.

"Why?"

"That was Ryu… _dad's_ original Quincy Cross. If I'm a prodigy when I started learning, he was a savant. So it reacting like that is… unexpected. But good. You're going to need every advantage you can get, while I'm training you."

She suddenly tensed at that, Ichigo's words coming back to haunt her.

"Well, that's awesome, then. So what _is _Quincy training, exactly?"

"I'm going to exhaust you until you'll want to quit, and then I'll see what you can do," he said, smirking.

"Oh, goody," she groaned.

"We're going to the construction site," he said, standing up.

"Construction site? Again?"

"Yeah. Less people will notice anything, like loud sounds… or other things. And it's going to be vacant for another two weeks, until the foreman there gets back from vacation."

"Umm… Okay," she said, heading after him as he left the room. "But how do you know that?"

"I hear things," he said mysteriously. "For your first exercise, let's see how well you can keep up."

And then he was going down the street, his body barely visible. After a second of incredulity, she took off after her cousin.

When they reached the construction site, she was thoroughly exhausted and her breaths came out in racking coughs.

"You're going to need to work on that," he said, smirking.

"Sh… Shut up," she panted, glaring at his perfectly composed self. "You were going faster than a car, and I kept up. That should count for something," she coughed.

"I suppose so," he laughed. "But I'm impressed with how well you kept up."

"I… I'm just that good," she said, smirking.

"We'll see how _good _you are," he laughed. "Training starts now."

He let his necklace take form, and she followed suit.

"The Quincy bow is the basic form of energy manipulation. You draw in the energy in the air around you and make it take a physical form. If you can't do it, there's no hope for you."

"Alright…"

"To start out, you're going to close your eyes and let yourself get calm."

Kagome did as told, letting the world go black around her. Surprisingly, finding her center was much easier than the other times she'd tried, and she had to wonder if there was something to what Uryuu'd said about him needing to teach her.

"The Quincy Cross is an extension of you. It's the basis for the bow. I want you to take deep breaths. With every inhalation, imagine light filling you and then traveling down. Keep going and visualize the energy becoming a sold, bow-shaped mass. That's pretty much all there is to it."

"Okay," Kagome sighed. "Doesn't sound too hard."

"Try it," he said, a bizarre, almost mocking tone in his voice.

Slowly, Kagome let the world around her vanish until all that remained was her. She took deep lungfuls of air, imagining light building around the jewelry in her hand.

She felt a sudden giddiness when the necklace turned warm in her hand, and her mental picture of a bow grew brighter.

She was getting more excited as the energy around her grew more intense with each breath. And then, the heat vanished. And all of the energy left where it had been building in a rapid, violent burst.

With a scream, she flew backwards, slamming hard into the ground and feeling as though her hands were on fire.

"What the hell!" she cried, opening her eyes to find blue smoke rising from her palms.

"Easy, huh?" her cousin mocked, appearing standing over her with a wide smirk.

"What the hell just hit me?"

"Lack of control."

"Huh?" she asked intelligently, pushing herself to her feet.

"You were doing great. Then you got excited. And all the energy you were playing with left in a burst, leaving the same way it came. Brilliant. You got some distance, too," he mocked.

"Don't be an ass," she sighed.

"Yeah, well, take this seriously, or you'll get killed. I'm giving you an hour. If you can't make a bow by then, you're pretty much screwed. I don't want to have to shoot you every time you need to learn something."

"Fine. I'll make a bow in half that," she growled.

She closed her eyes and slowly, _very _slowly, forced her irritation out of her mind. The world once again went blank beyond her, and she began to rebuild the energy. This time, it seemed to come much slower than the first try, taking double the time.

Remembering her time limit, she grew impatient and imagined the image suddenly being complete instead of being built up. That was a mistake.

The energy in her hand suddenly expanded, growing with unbelievable speed. Too much speed, as she found out. She couldn't contain the energy in the jewelry, and the silver rapidly grew to scolding temperatures. With a cry, she tried to release the energy.

And it released in another explosion, sending her into the dirt.

"Ugh… That hurts," she groaned, finding her hands smoking.

She quickly waved them and began blowing on them, trying to make the fiery sensations go away. It succeeded only slightly, and when she regained her sense of the world, she found Uryuu staring incredulously at her while laughing.

"Impatience is just as bad as lack of focus," he laughed. "Lucky you didn't burn your damn hands worse than that."

"That's not funny!"

"It is. I've never heard of someone doing that before. Most people start out incapable of even _feeling _the energy they're supposed to be using. At least, according to what grandfather taught me."

"Yeah, well, I'm not one to take things slowly. I've only got an hour."

"Actually, only about half of that. You were so slow that before you got impatient, you took about fifteen minutes for anything to start."

"Seriously!"

"Yep. But if you can use that much energy with control, you'll be able to take on Espada no problem. Try again."

Kagome once again let the world slip away, the compliment making the pain seem to vanish.

She began bringing the energy into the Quincy Cross, a comfortable warmth rapidly expanding up her arm. The warmth expanded into the air, seeming to brush against her entire being from the cross.

And then, her hand clenched, and her eyes shot open in surprise at the feel of something solid there.

In her grip was a long, slender bow of silver fire. As soon as she saw it, though, the bow vanished and an unbelievable fatigue slammed into her, dropping her to her knees.

"Man, that's exhausting!"

"I'd imagine. I have to say, I'm impressed," Uryuu quipped. "I didn't actually think you'd be able to make a bow. At least, not only two days after learning you were a Quincy."

"If you didn't… think I could do it… why the hell'd you tell me to do it?" she panted, falling and spinning so she was on her back.

"To get the point that it's not going to be easy across."

"Congratulations. You thought I wouldn't do it, when you weren't going to train me if I didn't?"

"I was only planning on seeing how much you could push yourself. I was going to train you, as long as you showed me you were serious about learning."

"Can I hate you?" she gasped.

"Oh, we're just getting started, cousin," he laughed.

"Lovely."

"Next, you're going to form an arrow… But not today. You look like crap."

"Oh, thank you so much," she sighed.

"Yeah, well, you've got burns, and that's on top of healing stabs and a hurt leg… In retrospect, I shouldn't have pushed you nearly this hard," he said guiltily. "We'll start again when you're not hurting any more."

"That… sounds tedious, but I think I need it," she sighed. "Think you can help me to the house?"

With a nod, her cousin lifted her up, his speed distracting her from the dual emotions of awe and guilt coloring his expression as he carried her…

A/N:

After a long hiatus, I'm back, and will hopefully have a lot of work done on the story in the near future. As always, be sure to leave your opinions, good, bad, or indifferent. See you next time!


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Day Off (Part I)

Light footsteps pattered across the carpeted floor, making Kagome come back to consciousness. Heading for the door was Shippo, clearly trying not to wake her up.

"Morning," she said, smirking when he gave a small squeak and jumped.

"Morning, mama," he said, turning towards her. "I was trying to be quiet. Uncle Uryuu said to let you sleep."

She stared at him, surprised by the 'uncle' part.

"Did he? Well, that's nice of him. But I'm not going to break. Hopefully… Today, I'm making sure not to do anything to push myself," she sighed, flopping back and spreading out on the bed.

"Well that's good," Shippo sighed.

"So, you going out to play?"

"Yeah… There was this big place that I found yesterday, where people were kicking balls and playing all kinds of weird games."

"Oh? That'd be a park."

"It looked fun!"

"Well, enjoy," she said, smiling. "I think I'll probably go for a walk in a little bit. I'll get stir crazy just sitting around here."

"Okay… Be careful, mama," he said, staring seriously at her.

"I will," she said, unable to prevent the smile that formed. "You too, okay, sweetie?"

"'Kay!" he exclaimed, racing out the door.

"Have fun!"

She smiled at how much energy he had. If she had half that energy, maybe she wouldn't still be feeling her hands stinging.

After another good hour of lounging comfortably, she got up, her various aches loving the warm shower she gifted them with. And as soon as she was done changing, she was out the door, heading into the warm day.

She started out with no particular goal in mind as she walked. Which was why, when she found herself standing in front of a large hospital nearly half an hour later, she was so surprised.

Then her brain registered the name on the top of the hospital, and was even more surprised. Taking a few seconds to debate what she should do, she followed through with what her subconscious had brought her to do.

Slowly, she walked inside, the air conditioning raising gooseflesh the second it touched her heated skin. It took her a few seconds to find the receptionist, and then she advanced on the elderly woman, a hesitant smile forming.

"Excuse me."

The woman looked up from her computer, a warm smile creasing her face.

"Hello, dear. What seems to be the problem?"

"Oh, no problem… I was wondering if Dr. Ishida was in?"

"Mr. Ishida's always in, I'm afraid," the woman responded with a conspiratorial whisper. "Might I ask why he's wanted?"

"Umm… I was just dropping by to say hello."

"Oh? You know Ryu, then?"

"Uh… yep. I wanted to drop in and say hi, if I could," Kagome said with a bright smile.

"Hmm… I don't think he's in a meeting. Hang on a moment."

She quickly pulled an old, brick-shaped phone out from behind her desk and gave Kagome another warm smile.

"Who might I say is looking for him?"

"Umm… Kagome."

"Kagome? I've heard that name before," the woman said, frowning thoughtfully. "Hmm… Well, I'm sure it'll come to me. Just a sec."

She dialed, and after three rings audible even to Kagome, someone on the other end clicked on.

"Ryuken, you have a visitor. What's that? No, no, I'm fairly certain she's not trying to sell anything. What? She's a pretty young thing, says her name is Kagome… What? Of course. You have a good day, too."

The woman clicked off and gave Kagome a smile.

"Mr. Ishida said to come right on up. He's on the top floor."

"Thank you," Kagome said, bowing before going for the elevator bank.

As the car rose upwards, a cold sweat began to take hold of her. Her uncle Ryuken had never gotten along with her family. From what she understood, her father and he had had a falling out at a young age, and her uncle had claimed not to want anything to do with them when her father married her mother. On the instances where they'd met, he'd been a pretty intimidating figure, and she wondered how much worse he'd gotten since she'd last seen him.

The ding of the car's bell broke her out of her reverie, and she quickly exited into a large, posh waiting room. A woman sat at another desk, and she eyed Kagome critically, as though wondering if she posed some kind of threat.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm here to see Dr. Ishida," Kagome said with a disarming smile.

"He said to send you on in," the woman said, pointing to the wooden door behind her. "For a second, I thought you were one of the new interns."

"Thanks… I think," Kagome said before going to the door.

As soon as she was in her uncle's office, a cold chill swept through her body, raking her spine. Sitting behind a large, ornate wooden desk sat Ryuken Ishida.

Even sitting down, she knew he was taller than her by at least half a foot. His lanky, geeky build was the same as before, his pale skin and silver hair making him appear like a ghost.

A pair of small, stylish silver glasses lay on the bridge of his nose. And from behind those glasses were two orbs of deep, chocolate brown, staring intently at her.

She felt his gaze pass over her every feature, a chill coming from the scrutiny. With a deep breath, she went through the room, taking one of the comfortable chairs on the other side of the desk.

They stared at each other for several moments before Kagome couldn't take the scrutiny anymore.

"Hello, Uncle Ryuken."

"Kagome," he said with a nod. "I must say, I didn't actually expect you to come here."

"Truthfully, I didn't know if I was going to come," she sighed. "I know that things between you and my parents have always been tense."

He seemed surprised by her honesty, but she somehow felt she'd impressed him in some weird way, too.

"Yes, well, your father and I were never what you'd call close siblings. So, why _did _you come here?"

"I'm not sure. I went out for a walk and I just ended up here."

"I see… Well, I see your Quincy powers are waking up. So much for being the last one," he sighed, surprising her.

"You… You can tell?"

"I may not like being a Quincy, but that doesn't make me less of one, unfortunately. And you're practically making the air sing. My idiot son's not helping you control it, it seems."

"He's helping a lot, actually."

"I doubt it. So, you're not an average human, obviously, though I'd already assumed that before you showed up. Care to tell me why you're really here in Karakura?"

"I had to get away from the city for a while. And I have someone following me. Finding out I'm more than a miko was an added surprise."

"I see… So you'll be around for a while, then?"

"I'm planning on another few days. After that, I might stick around. I've got a lot of time until fall comes and I start pre-med school."

"So you're going into medicine?" he asked, seeming to lose his cold attitude for a second.

"Yes. Helping people will be great."

"Well now, I like hearing that… I have a meeting in a few minutes. What do you say you come by again before leaving Karakura?"

"I think I will," Kagome said, smiling at his sudden change in demeanor.

She rose, giving him a handshake before going to leave. Just as she made it to the door, his voice stopped her.

"And Kagome?"

"Yes?"

"I'd appreciate it if you kept in mind that your parents and you are different people."

"Huh?" she asked intelligently.

"Just something to think about," he responded cryptically. "Have a good day, Kagome."

"You too," she said, quickly exiting while puzzling over the cryptic words…

A/N:

There's the newest chapter. Hope you've enjoyed. As always, be sure to leave your opinions, good, bad, or indifferent. See you next time!


	14. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Day Off (Part II)

Kagome continued puzzling over Ryuken's words, wondering what they could possibly mean.

She was so wrapped up in her pondering that she didn't even notice that she'd walked to the park.

A loud laugh broke her out of her thinking, and she looked up to find a bizarre sight.

Shippo was running around, bouncing a soccer ball on his head as he went for a large net. Behind him were two girls, almost keeping up with him.

One of the girls had dark, obsidian hair and an athletic build, with signs that she would be very pretty when she grew older. Next to her was a girl with yellow-blonde hair, her eyes wide and her expression very bright and optimistic compared to the other girl's.

They were both chasing after a laughing Shippo, who was making an impressive show of bouncing the ball on his head while running for the goal a few feet away.

Kagome stood against a tree, an amused smile creeping onto her face as she watched.

Just as the kit would've reached the goal, the black-haired girl dove forward. Her foot went under Shippo's and, with practiced skill, she brought her knee up, sending the ball soaring through the air to the cheering blonde.

Shippo stood up, an awestruck look on his face. He said something to the girl, and she smiled, giving a nod. She then took off towards the blonde, who was driving the ball for the other goal. Shippo quickly took off after them, but the girls had too much distance on him.

The game seemed to end as the black-haired girl drove the ball into the goal, to the applause of the other girl and Shippo.

Shippo's head suddenly swiveled, and a blush and sheepish grin took place before he gave her a small wave. Smiling, Kagome pushed off from the tree and quickly crossed the park to him.

"Hey there, Shippo," she said, kneeling down. "Making friends?"

"Uh… Uh-huh," he said, blush growing brighter.

The girls appeared behind Shippo, the blonde smiling brightly while the other eyed her critically.

"I'm Yuzu," the blonde said, staring at Kagome. "That's Karin. Who're you?"

"I'm Kagome. Shippo's mom. Nice to meet you," she said, returning the bright smile.

"You too!" Yuzu exclaimed.

"You look really young to be a mom," Karin, the other girl, stated.

"So I've been told."

"You're not one of those parents who got stupid, are you?"

Kagome was taken aback, but more than a little amused, by the girl's blunt question.

Before she could give her an explanation, however, a tall shadow passed over the four of them.

The person moved out of the sun and stepped up to Karin, frowning.

"Oi, be more polite to strangers, squirt," he said, gently tapping her on the head.

"Ichigo! You came to play?" Yuzu asked, eyes wide as she stared at the orange-haired boy.

Kagome's eyes widened when, looking at the three of them in a row, she saw the resemblance between them.

"Nah. Was just in the area," he said, smiling. "Besides, looks like you're having plenty of fun without me."

"Oh, please," Karin chided. "You just wanted to know who the pretty girl is, ya' lech."

"Well, I certainly can't complain," he said, eyeing a blushing Kagome and grinning. "Already know her, though."

"Ugh, I think I'm gonna' hurl," Karin quipped, giving a dramatic groan.

"Can it," he said, face bright red.

"I think I like your sister, Ichigo," Kagome laughed. "She reminds me of my little brother."

"Yeah. _Adorable_," he said, playfully glaring at Karin. "But seriously, I was just on my way through. I see you've met Yuzu and Karin."

"More like Shippo met them," she said with a smile.

"I'm on my way to a job. Think you can keep them outta trouble for me?"

"Sure," she said, grinning. "I don't have anything planned today, anyways. He felt so bad about pushing me that I got the day off."

"Man, Uryuu _must _be different when I'm not around, if he's taking it easy on you," he said with a grin. "Well, good luck. Karin, keep outta' trouble, ya' hear me?"

"Yeah, that comin' from _you _is great," Karin mocked.

With a grin, Ichigo took off. As soon as he was gone, what he'd said seemed to register to the girl. Something flashed through Karin's expression, and she turned her attention back to Kagome.

"What do you wanna' do next?" Yuzu asked, staring at a still-blushing Shippo.

"I dunno'."

Quickly, the blonde grabbed his hand and then they were off, Karin staying behind and staring at Kagome.

"Hang on. You said Kagome? As in, Uryuu's cousin?"

"You got it. So you've heard of me, huh? Should I be honored?"

"Heh. I overheard Ichigo talking about my new birthday present. He said he got it when he bumped into the new girl in town."

The girl gave a low whistle, smiling secretively.

"You musta' done _something _to impress him, from the way he was talking about you. My brother's not big on sharing, but from what I heard, you're not as frail as you look."

"Umm… thanks?"

"No prob. If what I heard is true, having you around town will make things interesting. Think you can do me a favor?"

"Depends," Kagome said, unable to prevent the smile that formed.

This girl was reminding her of Souta more by the second, and she was _definitely _related to Ichigo.

"Keep him on his toes, would ya? It's fun seeing him squirm. He's usually on top of everything."

"I think I can manage that," Kagome laughed.

With a nod, Karin took off after her sister and Souta.

An hour of the three playing later, Karin and Yuzu took off for home, and Kagome began walking her kit to Uryuu's.

"Did you have fun?"

"Uh-huh! They're really nice! I'm going to come play with them tomorrow, too. They said they're going to teach me baseball, whatever that is."

"That's great, Shippo."

"Mama, did you know your face was all red when Ichigo showed up?" he asked, smirking.

"Oh? Well, I don't know about that. I know you were bright red," she said, ruffling his hair. "Did my little Shippo get a crush?"

His face turned bright red and she laughed, hugging him to her chest.

"I won't tell if you don't," she whispered conspiratorially.

He gave a quick nod, and they continued on to Uryuu's.

That night, for reasons inexplicable to her, Kagome found her dreams filled with orange, spiky hair…

A/N:

Hope you've enjoyed. I don't know how well I handled writing Yuzu and Karin, and I'd really appreciate feedback because they'll probably be heavily involved in the story. I also think I suck at writing flirty dialogue, so feedback on the Kagome/Ichigo exchange would be appreciated as well. Thanks for reading, and see you next time!


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Power

Kagome rolled out of bed, all her various aches and pains completely nonexistent.

Smiling, she headed for the kitchen, where she felt her cousin's brooding energy.

"Good morning!" she said enthusiastically upon entry.

He looked up from the book he was reading, eyeing her critically.

"If you say so. You're up early."

"Yep. I feel great. So, what's the next part of the training?"

He stood up, eyes narrowed slightly.

"There's no way you feel better already. It'd be impossible. Even for Quincy, who are fast healers, we don't just bounce back like that in a day."

"I do," she said with a confident smirk. "I'm _just that good_."

"Really? Well, I guess I'll have to see how _good _you are," he said, sounding like he was challenging her. "We'll go get the next step of your training started in an hour."

"Okay," she said, spinning and heading back to her room with a smile…

"Alright, you can make the bow. Can you hold it?"

Kagome once again brought the bow into existence, this time the energy seeming to come to her before she even consciously called it. And the bow didn't disappear when she saw it this time, either.

"I… guess I can."

"Hmm… After only making it once, too… Yes, I truly am a great teacher," he said, smirking. "Next up is arrows."

"Oh, by all means, don't be humble on my account," she laughed. "So do arrows work the same way?"

"Kind of… The bow is a physical manifestation of energy. Arrows are another step up from that, becoming conduits for the spiritual energy in the air that have explosive properties. They can become like actual arrows, and they can also be bent and warped in ways that regular arrows can't be. Have you ever used a bow before?"

Kagome smirked, giving a mock thoughtful look.

"Well, I guess you could say that."

"Alright. So you know the basics of how bows and arrows work. Then just watch to see what I mean."

A bow formed in his hand and as he pulled back, as though drawing an actual arrow, a shaft of light took form. He took aim at a large set of steel beams and let loose.

Instead of shattering on impact, like she'd suspected it would, the arrow smacked into the steel and bent, turning into a V before going and repeating the process against more beams until it was no longer in sight.

"Wow… So they're like rubber balls?"

"They can bounce off of nonliving surfaces. But things with spiritual energy would get hurt if they thought it would bounce harmlessly off of them. Making them is the same principle as the bow."

"Alright."

Kagome felt her bow take form, and slowly drew her arm back as though bringing an arrow taut. The air between her hands grew warm, and Kagome looked over to find a squirming, weak shaft of light between the bow and her fingers.

She brought her focus away from the arrow, taking aim for the steel beam. When she let the arrow go, something in the energy it was built from changed. Eyes wide, Kagome spun and dove. Just in time to avoid the unstable arrow's explosion.

The area the explosion had marked was expansive, and Kagome stared in awe at where she'd been, which was further than she should've been able to jump.

"Kagome."

She spun at her cousin's voice, and gasped when she found a barrage of arrows heading for her. And she started to dodge, noticing again how she was moving faster than she should've been able.

Finally, she got out of the arrows' path, and her cousin was smirking as though he'd just won a prize.

"Something funny about shooting me? Are you a sadist?" she growled.

"Not that I'm aware of. But it's truly impressive, that you're able to do that."

"Do what?"

"Moving like that. It's slow compared to mine, but it's a technique called Hirenyaku. It works by drawing spirit particles under the feet to give a sudden burst of incredible speed. But it's damn hard to actually master. Were you always this fast?"

Kagome frowned in thought, thinking to all the times she'd run away from demons in the past.

"I've been pretty fast, from the training I've gotten from my friends the past years, but I've never come close to that fast… Although, this isn't the first time I moved like that since getting to Karakura."

"Hmm… Interesting," he mused.

"Really? I don't think it's _that _interesting."

"I think that your Quincy blood started to wake up due to the spiritual activity in Karakura Town," he said, deeply in thought.

"Huh… Hey, Uryuu?"

"Hmm?"

"Duck."

His eyes snapped to her to find an arrow going for his head, and he quickly dove out of the way.

"What the hell!"

"Thanks to all those arrows, I figured out how to make them work. Next time you shoot an arrow at me, I'm going to shoot right back," Kagome said, smiling widely at her glaring cousin.

"Cute."

"Thanks. I've been told that before," she said with a wink.

"Ugh. Anyways, basic training's done, I guess. Now you're going to practice. Every day while you're in Karakura, come here and practice until you've come up with every possible application for the arrows you can fathom. I'll be going, then."

In a flash, he was gone, and Kagome dropped to the ground, moving like she'd been hitting her hard with fatigue. But no amount of exhaustion could beat the fact that somehow, in less than a week from learning she wasn't a normal human, she'd learned the basics of the trade…

A/N:

Hirenyaku- God Step

There's the newest chapter, and I hope you've enjoyed. As always, be sure to leave your opinions, good or bad. See you next time!


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language, Violence

Violent Introduction

Kagome took a step back, sweat long since having drenched her. It had been two days since she'd 'impressed' Uryuu, and in that time, she'd been here, in the construction site, almost nonstop.

At first, forming arrows had been relatively easy once she knew how to do it. But they were still energy, and so was the bow. And she'd very quickly learned that sustaining the latter for longer periods of time was thoroughly exhausting.

Another arrow built, the heat of the energy now familiar, and the energy being drawn making her body feel even more like she'd been working out despite more or less just standing in the same spot the entire time.

Taking aim, she let the arrow fly, and it hit the mark. Despite how much more work using a Quincy bow took than a normal one, Kagome was thoroughly impressed with herself.

She wasn't up to the level she'd been at with Kaede's bow, but she wasn't missing her home-made target by nearly as much as she'd been two days ago.

The arrow just missed nicking the target, and she fell to the pavement, giving a sigh of relief as her bow stopped drinking her energy like a vampire and her heart rate began to gradually slow down.

"Damn I'm sore. No wonder Uryuu's so fit," she groaned, falling back and staring up at the cloudy sky.

As she was sitting there, letting her screaming muscles take a break, she felt a pulse of energy nearby.

Oddly enough, the energy kind of reminded her of Ichigo, and remembering the dreams about that particular subject she'd had the last nights, a bright blush immediately took form.

She was too distracted by her embarrassed musings that she didn't notice as a person appeared at the entrance of the construction site.

She did, however, notice them when the massive shadows covered her, and she noticed the energy just above her.

Slowly, she tilted her head, looking up to find a very bizarre-looking pair person.

He was a tall, thug-looking man, brilliant scarlet hair standing against gravity and burning her eyes with reflected sunlight. Covering his body were tons of tattoos, stretching across almost all his visible skin in tribal patterns.

He was literally _glowing_, with how much energy they were giving off, the black kimono he was wearing seeming to glow along with him. At his side was an authentic-looking katana, and he didn't seem particularly happy.

"Ummm… hi," she said, sitting up against the protest of her muscles.

The redhead stared down at her, seeming to be looking for something in her.

"Who are you?" he finally asked.

"Ummm… I'm Kagome," she said, standing up. "And you?"

Dark, brown eyes took in her appearance once again, and he finally lifted the blade, pointing his thumb at himself on the other hand.

"Gotei 13 6th Division Lieutenant, Renji Abarai."

"Umm… Okay… I'm going to assume you didn't just happen to find me here, so-o-o-o… can I help you with something?" she asked, staring at the bizarre man.

"I was sent here because there's been a ton of energy showing up around here in the last few days. And when I come here, I find a strange girl just sitting around at an abandoned construction site. Call me curious."

"Oh… Ummm, yeah, that was probably me," she said, blushing.

"Yeah, I figured that out already," he growled, eyes narrowed. "I need to take you to Soul Society for questioning in connection to the buncha Hollows that've been showing up here recently."

His hand reached out for her arm, and she acted on instinct, her body becoming a blur as she moved a dozen feet away.

His eyes widened in surprise, and he immediately became wary, hand going to his hilt and eyes becoming slits.

Kagome quickly realized she'd made a mistake. This Shinigami had shown up thinking her probably just a human giving off a strange energy that attracted Hollows. She'd just used speed no normal human could use, and the fact that she hadn't even blinked at his bizarre appearance was probably now registering. And she probably appeared as some kind of potential threat now.

In other words, _not good_.

He lunged for her, blade coming clear of its sheath and heading for her in an obviously gauging attack. She easily ducked under it, glaring at him.

"Hey, that's rude. I didn't attack you for interrupting my training," she huffed, glaring at him and feeling about as childish as she probably appeared at that moment.

With a growl, he lunged again, this time putting more force behind the attack. Before he reached her, she instinctively pulled on the energy around her, and her bow and an arrow flashed into existence before she consciously realized it was happening.

Eyes wide, he took the arrow in his chest, landing several feet back flat on his ass.

"What the hell!"

Kagome let her hand drop, watching as he quickly rose, energy pulsing like a snake around him.

"That was impressive," he said, rubbing his chest.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

"Tch. Like something that weak could've actually injured me," he scoffed. "A little more power and it might've actually hurt, though. No more playing nice."

"Sorry… I'm still trying to figure out how to hold back," she said, blushing. "I just meant to push you back… How about you just go away, and so will I?"

He gripped his katana, glaring at her.

"Not a chance."

He came at her again, this time with energy rising around him and more speed than she expected. The blade came down at her ankles, and she realized that if that sword hit her still-healing leg, she probably wasn't going to be using it again.

Her eyes slammed shut as she waited for the blade to hit. But it never did.

Instead, the sound of grinding metal assaulted her ears, and she opened her eyes in shock.

The Shinigami was barely separated from her, and his blade was an inch from her ankle. But pressed against the blade was another, considerably larger blade.

Holding the blade was another man in a black kimono, standing between them with an arm protectively placed around her.

Relief, along with some other unexpected emotions, washed through Kagome instantly when her eyes lifted and she found spiky orange hair at the top of the robe. And under the hair, gaze focused on the redhead, Ichigo looked _pissed_…

A/N:

And there's the newest chapter! If all goes as planned, I should have quite a few chapters out before the weekend's over. Hope you've enjoyed, and will leave your opinions, be they good or not. See you next time!


	17. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Shinigami

Ichigo glared at the redhead, gripping his large sword with white knuckles.

Slowly, he rose from his crouch, the arm around Kagome tightening and making her face turn bright red.

"How's it goin', Renji?" he asked, slowly stepping back.

Renji's gaze moved between the two, slowly lifting his blade.

"Get outta' the way, Ichigo."

Kagome found, much to her surprise, that her face _could _get more red than it was, which she was learning with every second longer she was this close to Ichigo.

"Hey, um… Ichigo?" she finally mumbled.

His eyes widened, and he quickly let her go, turning so that she was in his sight along with Renji.

"Ah… Sorry," he said, red lightly coloring his face now as well.

"I repeat," Renji growled, "outta' the way, Kurosaki."

Ichigo hefted his sword, the huge blade seeming light to him despite the bone-crushing size.

"Nope. Want to tell me what you want her for?"

"I'm pretty sure it's my fault," Kagome said, staring at the ground.

"There's been a ton of unfamiliar energy that's been around her recently. Everybody else has better things to do, so they sent me to find out what the hell it is. And to detain whatever the hell's causing it," he added, giving a pointed glare at Kagome.

"Yeah? I don't know. She's Uryuu's cousin, so she's bound to be a little weird," Ichigo laughed, smirking when Kagome gave him a glare.

"What was that?"

"She's the Quincy's cousin?" Renji asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah, I am. Did you just call me weird?" Kagome asked, fixated on Ichigo and ignoring the redhead now.

Smirking, Ichigo gave a shrug, which made the sword in his hand look even more impressive.

"Weird's kind of normal around here. Compared to Uryuu, though, you're definitely less odd, if it makes ya' feel better."

"Oi! You sayin' Uryuu taught her how to shoot me? She's a Quincy?" Renji asked.

"You shot him?" Ichigo asked, eyes wide.

"I didn't mean to do it so hard," Kagome said, face feeling like it was on fire. "I can barely aim them yet."

"Man. You _are _a prodigy," he said, whistling.

Something gave a loud, echoing _bang_, and both of them turned to the redhead, who was glaring at them both now.

"If what yer sayin's true, then it doesn't really matter. I still have to take her to the Captains so they can determine whether she's dangerous for themselves."

Ichigo turned fully to him, eyes narrowed.

"She ain't dangerous… Except to Hollows," he added as an afterthought.

"Ya' know, you barely know me," Kagome said, frowning. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but still, it's the principle of the thing. I hate being talked about like I'm not here."

"Oh… Sorry," he said, turning back to her.

"Well, we'll get going, then," Renji said, advancing on Kagome.

She moved, Hirenyaku getting her out of his reach again.

Ichigo eyed her, surprise obvious.

"Man, you've really been training."

"Yeah, well, Uryuu's a _really _good teacher. And I'm a fast learner. Good combination," she said with a shrug. "So, if I go to Soul Society and talk to your bosses, I can get on with my training without getting bugged?"

Both Shinigamis' eyes widened, and she gave a shrug.

The truth was, she was more than just a little curious about the Soul Society. And if the other Shinigami were as interesting as Ichigo or Renji, then that'd be even better.

"Yeah, that's what should happen, assuming you're really just incompetent and not dangerous," Renji finally said, earning him a glare.

"Fine, then I'll go. But on one condition."

"What's that?" he asked, glaring warily at her.

Kagome pointed at Ichigo, meeting Renji's gaze.

"If Ichigo can go with me… and he wants to," she added, the somewhat-cooled blush returning full-force.

"Really? Why the hell would you want to hang out with Kurosaki?"

Kagome forced her gaze downward, knowing any answer she gave would make her look stupid.

"Well, I got nothin' to do," Ichigo shrugged.

Nodding, Renji turned away from them and stabbed his sword into the air. A large gateway quickly took form, and a brilliant white glow emitted from within. The Shinigami quickly vanished into it, and Kagome started walking towards it.

Ichigo quickly came to her pace, staring ahead.

"So, I don't think you're exactly timid. So why do you want me for a bodyguard?" he asked.

"Am I that obvious?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Pretty much," he said, smirking.

Blushing, she looked anywhere but at him as they entered the gate.

"Well… I've been working pretty much nonstop for the last two days. And I've gotten better, but I'm still not fully in control. I wasn't going to track down Uryuu or Shippo to come, because they'd probably tell me this is a stupid idea."

"It is," he affirmed.

"I know, but I think that I'll be fine with you around," she said, blush heating up. "Don't know why. Must just be one of those miko foresight moments I sometimes get."

"You can see the future?" he asked, staring at her as they passed through the brilliant, white hallway.

"Y-Yeah, sure," she said, glad that sounded much better than the reality.

Which, as it turned out, was that her hormones and mental alarms both were screaming at her not to let him out of her sight at the moment…

A/N:

Hope you enjoyed. Please leave your opinions, as always. Especially concerning my back-and-forth, because it's one of my biggest weaknesses in writing. See you next time!


	18. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language

Soul Society

Kagome and Ichigo came out of the blinding light, and Kagome gave a gasp at the sight before her. As far as she could see, massive buildings stretched skyward. The air seemed like it was literally made of energy, and from her first breath, something seemed to build in her.

"So this is Soul Society?" she asked, wondering at how blue the sky was.

"Yeah, yeah, don't stand around an' gawk like some kinda' tourist," Renji growled. "C'mon."

"It ain't that impressive," Ichigo agreed.

"It just… It kind of reminds me of the other side of the well," Kagome murmured, blushing.

"Oh? How's that?" he responded as they began following Renji.

"The air's so pure here," she sighed. "One thing to be said about the past is that for whatever faults it has, it's got an amazing level of purity to it, compared to all the crap we've got in our environment today."

"Hmm… Sounds kinda' boring, to tell the truth," he said, smirking. "I didn't take you for the nature-lovin' kind of girl, Kagome."

"Oh, I'm not. But I can appreciate how the air here is. It's refreshing. Why does it feel like the air's alive?"

"That'd be because it almost is, with how much energy's in the air. Uryuu told me that being here is like an appliance being plugged in, for Quincies."

"Huh… I'll have to have him explain that, when we get back. Thanks for coming. I'm not sure how well I'd handle meeting these people without a friend."

"Heh. You make friends easily, don't you, Kagome?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"I pretty much avoid all the people in town I don't know. You've been there four days, and to be honest, I've probably hung out more with you than the others since you showed up."

"R-Really?" she asked, eyes wide and face burning.

"Yeah. Oh! I never got around to thanking you for watching the brats for me."

"Oh, it was no problem," Kagome said, her embarrassment gone. "They're cute. And Karin reminds me a lot of my brother. Plus, I think Shippo's got a crush on them."

"Yeah? That's a little concerning."

"Oi, would you two knock off the chitchat? We're here," Renji growled, reminding them that there was a third person there.

Before them stood a massive building, large, ornate doors standing open before them. Inside was a long hallway, 12 people lined up along the walls leading to a disgruntled-looking old man.

"I sent word ahead, but you two were too distracted to notice," Renji growled. "Just don't act stupid, got it?"

Slowly, they followed him into the room, oppressive power rushing over Kagome instantly. Her sense of dread only increased when the large doors slammed shut behind them of their own volition.

"Lieutenant Abarai, reporting!" Renji called. "I've found the source of the abnormal energy. Believe it or not, it's this scrawny-lookin' girl, and Uryuu's cousin," he added, pointing a thumb at an indignant Kagome.

And then, all eyes were on her, and Kagome quickly discovered she did _not _like that much attention.

"The Quincy boy's cousin? Another Quincy lives?" a tall, deathly pale man asked, his smirk sending chills through Kagome's soul.

"Well now, she's definitely got an interesting energy," a tall, rough-looking man in a pink kimono added.

"This meeting of the Gotei 13 Captains will now begin," the old man bellowed, power ringing out. "Girl, speak."

"Umm… okay. My name's Kagome Higurashi, and I just recently found out I've got Quincy blood in me… Umm, I was trying to learn how to use it, and I don't have very good control… I'm sorry if I set off some kind of radar," she stammered, brightly blushing.

"Well, at least that's true," a small woman with black pigtails mused. "Her energy's all over the place, and it's got almost no control."

"That doesn't mean she's a Quincy," a blue-haired, young-looking boy said. "We'd know if it was a Quincy. We don't know _what _was happening down there. Unless I'm mistaken, Captain Ukitake?"

A pale, white-haired man gave a cough, smiling apologetically.

"No. We'd never seen anything like it. Also, I don't remember picking up Quincy energy signatures."

Kagome began to grasp what happened, and she suddenly, desperately wanted to get the hell out of there.

"So, can you prove you're a Quincy?" the blue-haired boy asked, glaring warily at her.

"Ummm… I have this Quincy Cross," she said, letting it drop into sight.

"That doesn't really mean much," the blue-haired boy argued. "You could've stolen it from him."

"Look," she said in a huff, "I can't show you. I just explained, I don't have complete control. If I were to try to show you, I might accidentally blow something up. I'm working on it, but I haven't gotten the hang of it yet."

She knew she was lying to them, as she hadn't detonated anything since that first arrow. But she also knew for sure now what happened.

They knew the energy for Quincies, based on the fact that they'd met Uryuu. But they _hadn't_ ever seen the Shikon no Tama's energy, and this realization added to the growing, nagging thought that had begun forming in her head from the time she'd started training by herself.

Remembering what Mr. Urahara had said, she knew on an instinctive level that flaunting the Shikon to these Shinigami would be worse than bad.

"I'm sorry for setting off your radar or whatever it was," she continued, "but I'm still getting used to the whole 'monsters exist' thing, and the power I didn't have a clue I even had… Umm… Is that it?"

There were various degrees of speculation and wariness in the gazes on her, but her eyes were locked on the elderly man in the front of the room. He stared her down, an oppressive, unbelievable power sweeping from his form.

After a long, silent stare down, the man eased slightly, letting his muscles relax.

"Very well. Our business is done, Ms. Higurashi. But learn to rein in your powers. Karakura Town, from what I understand, has enough Hollows to fight _without _a form of spiritual live bait walking around."

"Umm… Okay. Thank you," she said, giving a deep bow.

Slowly, she turned, beginning to leave, Ichigo right at her side. Suddenly, a burst of power formed and the air behind Kagome rapidly heated.

Instantly, she reacted, Hirenyaku carrying her out of the attack's path. A fireball sizzled out of existence, and she spun to find the creepy, albino man smirking, his finger outstretched towards her.

Her blood turned cold when she realized what had just happened, and remembered that Uryuu said that wasn't supposed to be easy to do.

"Well now, that's impressive. For a girl saying she has no control, that's an awfully advanced Quincy technique you just used," the man laughed.

"Shit," Kagome gasped, backing towards a tense Ichigo…

A/N:

And so, the drama begins! I hope you've enjoyed, and will leave your opinions, be they good or not. See you next time!


	19. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Threat

Kagome backed up to Ichigo, eyeing the suddenly dangerous-looking old man.

"Care to add anything, Ms. Higurashi?" he asked, frosty voice sending a shiver through her spine.

"Uryuu's a good teacher. _Really _good," she shrugged. "I learned fast. I didn't say I wasn't weird. I said I can't control the power. If I could, would I have done that, instead of just dodging? Things just happen to me."

"All the more reason why you're potentially dangerous," the blue-haired kid growled, grabbing his katana.

The small, black-haired woman snapped her fingers, and a collective of ninja-looking people appeared, surrounding Kagome.

"Whether or not you're unable to control newly discovered powers, the fact remains you're the only new person in Karakura, and the strange energy we picked up could only belong to you. That combined with the amount of power you have without control makes you potentially dangerous," the blue-haired boy growled.

"With all due respect, I don't think that attacking people because of what they _can _do is right. As I told you, I'm working on it," the miko sighed, straightening.

"Yes, well, thanks to Aizen, we've recently been forced to be much more cautious of people, unfortunately," the white-haired man, Ukitake, sighed.

"Well, I can see your point. _But_," she said, letting her power rise, "I'll give you a warning. I'm not _just _a Quincy. I'd really rather go back to my son and training, so how about you don't attack me?"

"That's pretty gutsy," the old man said. "You underestimate us."

"No. I can feel everything in this room. I don't miss much," Kagome said, silver energy crackling along her body. "I shouldn't have come here. Whatever energy you picked up, it's not dangerous to you guys. And if you guys push me, I've got power other than my Quincy blood, and I _will _push back. _Hard_."

"Insolent girl. You're about a 100 years too weak to do anything here. Get her," the old man bellowed.

The ninjas moved, and Kagome flung her arms out.

Instantly, a bubble of crackling silver fire rose into existence around her and Ichigo, and the assailants were thrown into the surrounding walls with great force. As they fell unconscious from the impacts, Kagome gave a sigh of relief.

"Well, she _is _very interesting," the man in the pink kimono laughed.

"Indeed. I'll enjoy dissecting her," the albino man added.

"I'm not just a Quincy. I'm a Quincy second, a miko first and foremost," Kagome growled, eyes narrowed and voice echoing through the hall. "It just happens that Quincy training gave me what I needed to use my miko abilities well."

"Man, you were holdin' back on us," Ichigo whistled.

Blushing, Kagome gave a shrug.

"I didn't exactly have a whole lot of reason to use it. And I actually had no idea whether I was right or not. I'm glad it worked out, though," she said, maintaining the flow of energy into her barrier.

"Well, that's _fantastic _planning," he laughed.

"That barrier, while impressive, won't hold for long," the blue-haired boy growled. "Gotei 13 10th Division Captain, Toshiro Hitsuguya. Prepare to be ended! _Soten ni zase_, _Hyorinmaru_!"

Power exploded out from the boy, Hitsuguya's, body, and even through her barrier, Kagome felt the temperature of the air rapidly plummeting. Where his sword had been now sat a massive, icy dragon, red eyes narrowed at her.

"You don't want to do that," Kagome warned, her eyes wide.

He swung the handle of his sword and the dragon launched forth, jaws agape. It hit her barrier, and icy power exploded outward. Instantly, the dragon vanished in a wash of silver fire, and the boy was launched backwards.

"_What_!"

"Why do I keep getting into fights?" Kagome groaned. "I don't _like_ fighting."

Seeming to draw on her emotions, the Shikon no Tama suddenly reminded her of its existence in a burst of pure, agonizing fire centered on her chest. Eyes wide, she dropped to her knees, steam rising around her body. She watched as the barrier began to shimmer, and she grabbed at her chest, pulling the gem over her shirt.

She stared in awe as the jewel pulsed, a wave of bright silver energy rising from the half-orb. The barrier seemed to attune to it, flashing in and out of existence with every pulse from the Shikon.

"What the hell!"

The Shinigami unanimously took a step back, and slowly, Kagome calmed down, the heat from the jewel seeming to do so as well.

"That looks like the Hogyoku," the black-haired girl said, gripping her katana.

"A little. It's much more powerful," Ukitake stated.

Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he stared at Kagome and the Shikon in awe.

"Well now, that explains it. That's the Shikon no Tama," he mused. "That would explain the energy."

"Yeah? Not by choice," Kagome groaned, managing to stand back up. "And before you ask, no, I'm not giving it up to you."

Some of them seemed ready to argue, but her power had come back as soon as the Shikon stopped pulsing, and it seemed to give them pause after watching Hitsuguya's attack melt into nothingness.

Ichigo standing at her back, hand on Zangetsu, seemed to help keep them at bay as well.

"My sole purpose in this life is to destroy the Shikon no Tama," Kagome continued. "I won't let anyone use it. It's a cursed, damned thing, and I've got enough problems because of it already."

"You're its guardian. The Shikon Miko?" Ukitake asked, a smile forming.

That seemed to hold even more weight with the Shinigami, as not a one of them took a step towards her.

A loud, echoing bang came, and they all turned their attention to the old man.

"This is all very interesting. The Shikon no Tama is supposed to no longer exist."

"Yeah, well, I'm working on that, too," Kagome stated. "But I can't work on it if I don't master my Quincy powers, so…?"

He stared her down, eyes narrowed. Finally, he gave a nod, and a small amount of the tension left the room.

"Very well. We'll allow you leave. You need to learn to stay low-key, though, girl."

A smile formed, and Kagome gave another bow, her power vanishing from the air.

"Thank you."

Before they could rethink it, Kagome turned and left the room, moving as fast as possible without running away. Ichigo followed close behind, and they made their way to the nearby gate.

"You know, that was really reckless," Ichigo chided.

"I know. I don't know where that came from. Lucky for me, my miko powers got stronger thanks to my training… Thanks for backing me up."

"Oh, no problem. You're too interesting to let die," he laughed, making her blush again as they disappeared into the gate once more…

A/N:

Soten ni zase- Reign over the frosted Heavens

Hyorinmaru- Ice Ring

And so, we've had the meeting between Shinigami and Kagome. I hope you enjoyed, but I'm not sure how well I pulled off the characterizations. As always, leave your opinions. See you next time!


	20. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Danger

Kagome and Ichigo touched down at the construction site, the gate quickly disappearing behind them.

"So… that was interesting," Kagome sighed, falling to the cool ground.

"Heh. Interesting?" Ichigo mused, sitting down next to her. "Gotta' say, standing up to all of them's impressive. You fighting off Toshiro's even more impressive."

"The kid? What the hell did I ever do to him?"

"Ah, he's an acquired taste," Ichigo said with a shrug. "He's too serious. I'm surprised, though. The old man was pretty nice, considering the first time we'd met," he laughed.

"So… give me a run-down. Who exactly did I just piss off?" Kagome asked, playing worriedly with the hem of her shirt.

"The people who run Soul Society. And in only a week. It took me a few months after learning about all of this to piss 'em off. Welcome to the club," he said, grinning.

"Umm… That's not good," she said, staring at the sky. "I must've made a hell of an impression, too, looking like this, covered in sweat," she groaned.

"You look great," he said with a shrug. "I think it added to the seriousness when you suddenly brought up a bubble of silver fire. Cool trick, by the way."

"Umm… thanks? Don't start thinking I'm good. I got lucky. I had no idea whether that would work or not."

"Nah, I don't believe in luck," the orange-haired boy said, eying her.

"Well, thanks. But I do. Because with all the times I survived in the Sengoku Jidai, there was no way that I could come out of it as well as I have. It just happens that my good luck doesn't apply when my friends need it," she sighed, sadness creeping into her voice.

"I get the feeling the reason you came here had more than just the Espada," Ichigo said, looking away. "I'm not really touchy-feely, but you want to talk about it?"

"No. I just want to forget about it for a while. But thanks for the concern," she added, smiling at him.

He simply gave a shrug, staring at the sky.

They sat there, a companionable silence forming as they just stared up at the sky.

And then, the peace was shattered when a wave of nauseating, stomach-turning energy raged through the atmosphere. They instantly shot to their feet, turning towards the energy's source.

"That didn't feel too good," Kagome groaned.

"The bastard's stronger than before," Ichigo observed as they took off.

"So it's him?" Kagome asked, stomach clenching.

"Yeah," the Shinigami sighed, popping a green pill and flashing out of his body. "Scared?"

"For me? A little. But for the people near him, a whole hell of a lot," she said.

Somewhere in the distance, a pained cry sounded along with a burst of dark, hateful energy, and Kagome pushed energy into her feet, taking off in large bursts.

A hand gripped her arm, stopping her energetic pace, and she slowed as Ichigo lifted her.

"Conserve your power. Hang on."

She quickly grabbed onto him and then, they took off, Ichigo carrying them towards the energy with incredible speeds.

They came to a stop at the park, where Kagome's blood froze in terror.

Zetsumei stood tall in the park, a smoking and burning crater before him.

His snow-white hair swayed in the wind, black energy rippling off of him.

A dozen feet away stood a panting and bleeding Shippo, green eyes narrowed and crackling, blue fire rising from his fists. Behind him were a scared-looking Yuzu and a pissed but unafraid-looking Karin, her eyes moving from Shippo to Zetsumei and back again.

"You're an impressive little brat. I suppose there's something to be said about having that _thing _for a mother," the Espada mocked, smoke rising from a very well defined handprint on his arm.

"Don't insult her," Shippo growled, youki building around him and fires burning brighter.

Kagome strode forward as soon as Ichigo put her down, eyes narrowed at the sight of the blood coming down the right side of her son's face and the sound of Zetsumei's mocking laugh.

"Shippo, down," she said, voice full of power.

Instantly, the flames died and he stood taller, still standing protectively before the girls and growling at Zetsumei.

"I couldn't hurt him, momma," he apologized.

"It's fine. You did good, keeping the girls safe," she said, doubts leaving her in her motherly, protective anger.

Zetsumei turned towards her as well, his visible black eye assessing her critically and a half-sneer forming on his non-mask-covered side of his face.

"Ah, Kagome," he said, voice like sandpaper across her skin. "I was just playing with your brat. He has no spiritual energy, yet he can throw fire like that. Very interesting."

"Yeah? Well, you hurt my son, so the games end here," she growled.

Power quickly rose in black waves around his body, and the sneer sent a chill through her body.

"You've grown confident. I'm curious as to what you've learned since I last bested you. And make no mistake, there's no escaping me, this time, witch," he said, eye seeming to glow with obsidian power.

Kagome took a step back, his energy getting more menacing by the second…

A/N:

And so, the battle begins! I hope you've enjoyed the build-up, and will leave your opinions on my characterization and dialogue, once again. See you next time!


	21. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Violence, Language

Shock

Zetsumei took a step forward, drawing his katana.

"I won't make a mistake this time. I'll bring Aizen the jewel, and I'll bring your head as reparation for screwing up," he laughed.

Instantly, he attacked her, his body blurring with his speed.

Kagome let instinct take over, using Hirenyaku to dodge before bringing out the Quincy bow. His eyes widened and he couldn't react due to his surprise when she shot an arrow.

The power landed on him, and he dove away, the arrow cutting his arm.

He spun to a stop several feet back, eying her with a new wariness.

"What the hell was that?"

"Remember that nice bow I shot you with before you broke it?" Kagome started lightly. "Guess what? You won't be breaking this one," she said, forming another arrow.

"Ichigo, make sure nobody's hurt and look after the kids. I'm going to need help, but you'll probably figure out when that is."

Without a word, the Shinigami took off, disappearing in a burst of speed.

Zetsumei stared at Kagome, looking at the bow.

"A miko who's also a Quincy?" he mused, eyes narrowed. "Perhaps Aizen would want you like he wanted that orange-haired bitch… But I suppose having that jewel for him will make up for it."

He launched again, Kagome tracking his movement and waiting for him to get too close. As soon as he was within striking distance, she fired.

He brought his blade up, slicing the energy in half and causing a small explosion, knocking Kagome back.

As she came up, he was there, using the distraction completely. His sword flashed across her vision, and she brought her hands up, using the Quincy bow as a shield.

It didn't dampen the impact too much, and she found herself smashing backwards. Blood flew up from her bleeding arms, her body sliding against the grass and dirt.

Despite the agony burning her synapses, she pushed herself up, eyes narrowed at the smirking Espada.

He slowly began advancing on her, and she brought her bow back into existence. She began taking a step back for his every step forward, firing arrow after arrow. While he easily knocked them away, it slowed him down, and distracted him from the energy building in Kagome while firing weak arrows.

"Come now. You started out that well, and _this _is all you have?" he laughed, knocking them aside.

And then, the arrows weren't even slowing him down, and she released her energy in a massive burst.

Five arrows, considerably stronger, launched into him. He blocked with his katana, but as each arrow hit, the concentration of energy built against him, beginning to push him back.

And then, the energy exploded, and he was thrown back, chest smoking. But he wasn't dead, and that was worrying.

He slowly brushed himself off, blood leaking from a nasty-looking burn mark on his chest, eye narrowed. His mask was cracked in various places, he wasn't amused anymore.

Kagome began building power anew, surprised the attack hadn't done more with the force from the explosion.

Before she could hit him again, he crossed the park, his body giving off a high-pitched whistle as it vanished.

A fist connected with her stomach, and she rose up off the ground, pain launching through her. Before the pain rode itself out, Zetsumei brought his elbow down on her back, smashing her into the ground and making her hurt even more.

She started getting up when his foot shot out, kicking her and rolling her over with a pained gasp. Slowly, his foot came down on her still-mending leg, and he let out a growl.

"That's not funny. That _hurt_, you bitch," he snarled.

His foot pressed down, and she let out a pained whimper as fiery agony formed in the only spot her leg still hurt.

Slowly, he lifted his blade, spinning it so the blade was down.

"I was gonna' have some fun, but now you've pissed me off. Die!"

He began slashing downward, and Kagome's heart skipped a beat in fear.

And in that brief second, a strange, alien power surged through her body. Zetsumei sensed the shift in power and forced more power into his slash.

Just as it would've reached her, the power left Kagome's body and turned into a tangible force, his blade being held at bay in the air above her head, sparks of silver energy rising from the tip.

Teeth gritted against the strain, he pushed, trying to drive the blade into her skull.

Her hand came up, and his eye widened in shock when she pushed, lifting his blade away with the bare, unmarred palm of her hand.

The power reached higher levels, the air whistling around her, and he dove away. Kagome slowly sat up, smoke and steam rising in a sphere around her. The ground became molten beneath her feet, and Kagome stared in wonder at her body, glowing with silver energy.

Following what felt naturally, she brought her glowing hands together in a clap. As she began separating them, silver light poured into existence.

The further she spread her arms, the longer the shaft of edged light became. And then, the light hardened, and she was no longer holding undefined light, but a strange, ethereal blade.

Before Zetsumei could respond, she lunged, slamming the blade into his shoulder. His katana came up and drove her back, blood pouring from the mark.

"What the hell is this!"

"Don't know," Kagome said with a shrug. "But it'll work."

She came at him with an abnormal ferociousness, making dozens of cuts along his form and weakening him more by the second.

Ichigo and the children watched in shock as she moved, beating the Espada more and more by the second despite his impressive resistance.

He punched her in the face as she drew her blade back, but for some reason, Kagome simply didn't feel it, the energy around her seeming to absorb the force. Her next blade struck, and the Espada let out a snarl, energy rising around him in a black mist.

With a hiss, Zetsumei punched into the blade, the black energy suddenly coalescing into a swirling, black spiral around his knuckles.

"_Cero_!"

A burst of black light came, and Kagome was thrown back, smoke rising from her and her arms heavily bleeding.

Despite the fact that she _knew _she should be in pain, Kagome felt almost nothing besides a tingling that ran up her limbs. And when she started advancing on him again, Zetsumei backed away, a shocked fear forming in his eye…

A/N:

I hope you're enjoying the fight! As always, leave your opinions, good or bad. See you next time!


	22. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language, Violence

Zetsumei

"What the fuck are you?" Zetsumei gasped, pressing down on a particularly nasty cut to his stomach.

Kagome slowed in her advance, fear in her eyes as well.

"I'm beginning to wonder myself. But if whatever's happening lets me make you go away and stops the danger to my family, I'll worry about it later."

She raised the energy blade, silver sparks shooting off of it as she prepared to end the Espada.

"I will _not _die to the likes of you!" he snarled, lifting his katana.

In one fell swoop, he shoved the sword into his mouth, the blade disappearing as it went and his body gaining an ominous glow.

"Shimekire_, Akakeiji_!"

Kagome jumped back, eyes wide as black mist rose around his body, swirling into a sphere of darkness around the Espada.

Kagome stared at the form, feeling the sudden increase to Zetsumei's energy, before it went beyond what he'd originally had.

She watched as, slowly, every wound she'd given him stitched closed. As soon as the last one closed, his body exploded into darkness.

When she could see again, horror struck her anew.

Zetsumei was no longer there. In his place was a monster.

The thing had a long, narrow, skeleton for a head, a pair of obsidian orbs in the eye sockets and rows of jagged, dangerous-looking pearly fangs hanging where teeth should be.

Its body was pure, pearly white, almost animal in appearance. Long, flowing white hair had become armor along the monster's back, looking thick enough to take a tank on and come out fine.

Long, thick arms extended to its waist, where silver claws stood in for what had been fingers. All throughout the monster's body were long, curved blades. Slowly, it stood, making it look like a very humanoid, dangerous wolf.

The monster's jaws separated, and a laugh exited it like metal grinding.

"You're scared," Zetsumei said from the creature. "That's good. Tremble in terror as I kill you in a world of pure, blissful agony," he laughed, taking a lumbering, ground-shaking step towards her.

"Wh-What is this?" Kagome asked, eyes wide.

"This is my _Resurreción_. And believe me, I am going to make you suffer for being the only _human _who's ever made me use it," he said, claws clenching and unclenching.

A sudden influx of energy came from their side, and Zetsumei turned towards Ichigo.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

A massive wave of rippling, black energy left his sword, hurtling into Zetsumei. A loud crack came, and part of his armor gave with a snap under the power.

With a snarl, Zetsumei spun, swinging a claw through the attack.

"_Cero_!" he snarled, a ball of black energy launching for the unguarded children.

Ichigo was there in an instant, knocking the attack into the sky with his blade.

"Heh. You might be strong, but you're no Ulquiorra," Ichigo laughed. "Mind if I step in?" he added to Kagome.

"Thanks," she said, forcing herself to stay focused on the Espada.

If her concentration and focus slipped for a second, she would suddenly find herself dead, and she was well aware of the fact.

His laughter sent a chill through her, and his black eyes glowed with hatred.

"Oh, the little witch can't come out to play. _Sekisho_!"

Eyes wide, Ichigo launched for them. But he didn't move fast enough.

A massive bubble of black energy formed, wrapping around the Espada and miko before snapping into reality, the entire process leaving Kagome cold. Ichigo hit the barrier and bounced backwards, his sword having no effect.

"Shit!" he hissed, dropping back.

"No running away, now," Zetsumei laughed, eying Kagome.

He launched, hands outstretched and body streamlined. Kagome used Hirenyaku, getting out of his cutting path, but just barely. It was so close that while not fatal, she still got enough cuts in places that left her wondering what would've happened if he'd gotten a centimeter closer.

All the blades and his flexibility made it very hard to dodge him, but she kept it up for what felt like a small eternity. Every opportunity that presented itself, she slashed at him with the still-powerful blade, but she couldn't stand long enough to put power into the swings.

He seemed to be getting amused by her attempts to slash and dodge simultaneously. As she came into her latest dodge, he swung his leg out unexpectedly.

Kagome immediately brought the blade down to block, and the force went from fatal to disorienting. His fist swung out, smashing into her face with the force of a freight train.

She flew from the ground, pain flooding her head as she smashed into the barrier.

Fire spread across her back and she gave a yelp, the agony in her face a distant memory as she dropped to her knees. The fire seemed to burn through her brain, making getting up nearly impossible as Zetsumei approached.

A grating laugh sounded, and his clawed feet bit into the grass and dirt as he approached with mocking slowness as she writhed.

"Aizen would find this amusing. All that power, and the guardian of something stronger than the Hogyoku, and _still _so weak. I'm not even the strongest Espada. This is pathetic."

Kagome finally found the power to sit up, and she shot him a glare. He was now standing mere inches away, and she found a spot of exposed, pure albino skin in his chest, where no armor existed right above the hole in his stomach.

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" she asked, spitting up a small amount of blood.

"What's that, bitch?"

"If you're going to kill me, could you just do it quietly?" she asked, hoping he didn't notice how hard she was gripping the blade, or how every ounce of her energy was now concentrated into it.

"Oooh, _brave _little witch."

Sneering, he pulled his fists back, clearly planning on shredding her to death. She had one chance, and she stared intently at him, trying to make the focus look like fear.

And then, he came forward, and she launched. The blade buried into his exposed skin and she followed through with her weight, pushing him back and pinning him to the ground under her.

"_What_!"

"I'm not a witch. I'm a miko," she hissed, changing the type of energy in the blade.

His body began to flood with silver light, the energy leaving every open spot on his armor. His black eyes stared at her in fear, her body shaking from the effort to hold him down and the energy she was rapidly using.

"What the hell is this!" he screamed, pain becoming obvious as light began to leak from him like blood.

"This is the power of a pissed off miko against a demon. It'd probably do more to actual demons, but you have enough youki in you for it to work," Kagome explained, her vanishing energy quickly weakening her.

He weakly gripped the blade, trying to pull it out. Kagome let her weight hold it down, her breathing rapid and her muscles quickly losing power.

Just as he was about to throw her off, something gave. With a last, choked yell, his entire body flashed. And then, he exploded into bloody ash under her now-empty hands, the barrier crashing down around her.

She fell to the ground, cuts screaming in agony from the cold grass and soil pressing into her.

She slowly became aware of multiple energies nearby, and looked up, and she gave a groan.

Standing behind a pissed but impressed-looking Ichigo were Orihime, Chad, Rukia, and Uryuu. And, judging by their various expressions, they'd been there long enough to see at least a small portion of her display…

A/N:

Shimekire- End

(Ak)(akajei)- Bloody Apocalypse

Sekisho- barrier

Hope you enjoyed the first real fight in this story. As always, leave your opinions, be they good or not. See you next time!


	23. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Luck

"Hey, Uryuu," Kagome started, giving another bloody cough before rolling over. "Can you explain what just happened?"

Her cousin stepped forward, the others quickly joining him. Adjusting his glasses, he examined her, a strange light to his eyes and a tension to his body.

"Quincies can create blades through a technique called Seele Schnider. But what you used wasn't it. The Seele Schneider needs a base, like this one," he said, pulling a thin, silver tube from his jacket. "And not with a blade _nearly _that long," he added, letting a blade that was about a quarter the size of her own had been form.

It quickly vanished, and he tucked the sword away.

"Okay," Kagome groaned, eyes closing as she took the slightly disturbing news in stride. "Is Shippo okay?"

"I'm fine, momma!" the kit said, somewhere to her side. "Are you two?"

"That was scary!" a light voice said, most likely belonging to Yuzu.

"We're fine… Th… Thanks," another, gruffer but still feminine voice said.

"Very impressive, Shippo," she mused, smiling. "Do you need healing?"

"Nah," he said, voice filled with bravado. "He only grazed me," he said, making her smile grow.

A whistle came, and Kagome's eyes cracked open to find Rukia standing at ground zero where Kagome had suddenly exploded. Literally, from the looks of the molten ground.

"Well, you put a hell of a display on," the Shinigami stated. "If you could do this this whole time, why'd you come to Karakura?"

"I couldn't… I've really got no idea where the hell that power came from," Kagome said, slowly sitting up and going into a coughing fit for her troubles. "But, whatever. Zetsumei's not alive anymore, so I'll worry about it all later."

Rukia stood up from her crouch, eyes narrowed.

"You shouldn't have been able to beat an Espada. And especially not while the Espada's in his Ressureción. Not when you've had less than a week after finding out you're a Quincy to train with Uryuu."

Kagome's blood turned cold at that, the idea that had been taking form now gripping her skull with an iron fist.

She knew that while Uryuu was a good teacher, and she was a fast learner, she had learned too much entirely too quickly. Miroku and Kaede had been excellent teachers, too, but she hadn't ever learned this fast.

And she'd never experienced the kind of power it had taken to form the barrier she'd made in the Soul Society. It was certainly possible, given her mastery of Quincy powers, that the powers she'd had for years had simply followed with the innate strength she'd always possessed, with the control she'd now gained.

But somehow she doubted it.

And she had _no _idea how she'd managed to pull that much power into her, or how she'd just formed that sword that had looked a _lot _like a crude version of the Tetsusaiga in its size.

The way the Shikon no Tama had been acting towards her since returning to this side of the well, added with all of these facts, made a very ugly picture.

Her thoughts terrified her, and Kagome feinted exhaustion so she could close her eyes and not broadcast where her thoughts were to her cousin and his friends.

The simple fact was there. The Shikon no Tama was somehow influencing her, and that was more terrifying than the thought of Naraku, or Espada, or whoever the mysterious Aizen ever could.

Finally, she opened her eyes, fighting her fear.

"I have no idea where that power came from," she finally managed, looking from Rukia to the others. "I've never done anything like that before, and I've certainly never taken on a demon by myself like that. But, as for me beating him, that's simple."

"Oh? How's that?" Uryuu asked, frowning.

She shrugged, the movement sending pain through her and exhaustion hit her full force.

"Sheer, dumb luck," she said, eyes drooping.

"Kagome?" Ichigo asked, eyes wide as the power she'd been using finally caught up to her and she slumped bonelessly to the ground.

"I'm tired," Kagome groaned.

And then, she was out cold…

A/N:

Seele Schneider- Soul Cutter

And so the plot thickens! Hope you enjoyed this relatively shorter chapter than I'm used to writing. As always, be sure to leave your opinions, good or bad. See you next time!


	24. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Recovery

Kagome's eyes shut, and her energy began to drop rapidly.

"Shit," Ichigo cursed.

Orihime immediately ran forward, eyes wide and power flaring.

"Soten Kisshun!"

Her hairpins exploded in light, and a bubble of golden energy immediately wrapped around Kagome.

Her wounds slowly began healing, Orihime intent on the damaged miko.

They all watched in shock as suddenly the bubble expanded, pushing Orihime back. All around Kagome, an unbelievable aura rose into the air. Sparks of white and gold energy swept through the air, joining the gold of the bubble.

"What the _hell _is this woman?" Rukia gasped.

"Don't know. But I think she could kick all our asses, if she got serious," Chad said, eying the aura.

"Now that she can't hear us," Uryuu began, eyes narrowed, "you want to tell me why the _hell_ my cousin almost died?" he nearly snarled, turning to Ichigo.

"She told me not to help until she needed it, and to keep the kids safe in case he pulled something," the Shinigami said, glaring at the ground. "She was beating him, but then he released his Ressureción. I attacked, but the bastard made a barrier. I don't think they even noticed me, but I was trying to break through the entire time they were fighting. Obviously, that didn't pan out."

"Tch. Damnit, Kagome," Uryuu groaned.

Clearly done with the conversation, Ichigo turned and walked towards the kids.

"You alright?"

"I'm okay. Shippo protected us," Yuzu said, staring at the kit.

"We're good," Karin said, eyes wide. "She's more impressive than I thought. She can take your ass, Ichigo," she mused, smiling deviously.

Smirking, Ichigo dropped to the grass next to them.

"Yeah, I don't doubt that… 'Course, I'd rather not find out. Hey, thanks for protectin' 'em, kid," he added to the kit.

The kit's face turned nearly as bright as his hair, and Ichigo smirked.

"N-No problem," he said, shrugging. "The guy was strong, but I've seen worse."

"Really?" Yuzu asked, eyes wide.

"Y-Yeah," he said, getting redder.

"Heh. Your mom's impressive, kid."

"No kidding," he responded, staring at the now-glowing miko. "I've seen her do a lot of things, but I've never seen her do anything as amazing as that. She could probably kick Bakuyasha's ass now, too," he said, smirking evilly.

"Who?"

"Doesn't really matter, now," the kit said, sobering quickly. "She likes you, you know. It's a good thing, after that idiot."

"Yeah?" Ichigo asked, face heating.

"Yeah. I'm young, but she's pretty easy to read."

The idea of Kagome liking him had an odd impact on him, breaking his tough-guy act for a very brief moment.

"She ain't so bad herself, kid."

Ichigo blushed bright red and locked his eyes ahead, avoiding his sister's surprised smiles.

"_Aww_, Ichigo's got a crush!" Karin laughed.

"Can it, twerp," he said, playfully thumping her forehead.

Before he could get further embarrassed, the incredible energy from Kagome shut down. He rose, watching as Kagome's eyes snapped open, making Orihime jump in surprise.

Immediately, the miko looked at Orihime, her eyes wide.

"I had no idea," she said, sounding apologetic.

This confused those watching, but it simply seemed to surprise and embarrass Orihime, who vigorously shook her head.

Slowly, Kagome stood up, eyes still wide as she inspected herself.

"Wow! That's amazing! It's like I wasn't ever cut!" she exclaimed, whatever had passed between the two women giving way to surprise.

"I couldn't give you back all that energy, but you should be able to move around without trouble."

"Thanks. Well, Zetsumei's dead now… Maybe I should head back," she mused.

"Like hell," Uryuu said, surprising them all to focus on him.

"What?"

"The Espada's dead. And you've got power. But Aizen's not a joke," he said, adjusting his glasses. "Much as it sucks, you just put yourself on his radar, if you weren't already on it. He was strong, but he wasn't even the strongest Espada, and they all bow to Aizen. He'll be coming for you next."

"Okay… I can see how that's bad," Kagome said, eyes wide.

"You're not a prisoner, but you are my family. Don't be an idiot," he said with a frown. "_He _almost killed you, and he wasn't the strongest thing around. So if you're going to leave, you'd damn well better learn how to hide your energy. Completely."

"Okay… And how do I do that?" she asked, confused.

"I think I can help with that," Ichigo said, making them all turn to him…

A/N:

Soten Kisshun- Twin Heavenly Returning Shield

Hope you enjoyed the dialogue. As always, leave your opinions on my work, please. See you next time!


	25. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Hidden

They stared at Ichigo like he'd suddenly sprouted another head.

"What the hell would you know, Kurosaki? You're almost as bad as she is," Uryuu griped.

"Possibly worse," Rukia added, smirking.

"Thanks a helluva lot," he said, the comment good-natured. "But like I said, I've got an idea. The geezer was yammering on about something new he'd made a while ago."

"I don't want my cousin dealing with anything made by him," Uryuu said, eyes wide.

"We've established he's weird, not crazy," Ichigo said with a shrug. "Oi, Kagome, want to give it a try?"

"Give what a try?"

"One of Urahara's inventions."

"Sure," she said, shrugging. "But why do I get the feeling it's not gonna' be fun?"

"See you all later, then," the Shinigami said, ignoring her last comment as he took off.

Kagome quickly picked Shippo up and then she was following, her speed almost on par with his now.

As she left, she acutely felt everyone's eyes on her back, and that was worrisome. Her concentration quickly focused on keeping up with Ichigo, suddenly realizing how true what Orihime said about not giving energy back had been.

They arrived on a small, deserted street in ten minutes. Instantly, a strange sensation flooded Kagome, and she took a gasp, her body reacting to the _unbelievable _energy she felt.

Following the sensation, she found the source to be a small, wooden shack-looking building with a sign simply stating 'Urahara Shop'.

"Oh, this oughta' be fun," Ichigo quipped. "Oi, Kagome, don't let 'er bait ya."

"Bait me? Who?" Kagome asked, confused.

He simply gave a mysterious shrug and stepped into the shop. She quickly followed, and stopped as soon as she passed the threshold.

A tall, lithe woman suddenly took form, about three inches too close for Kagome's comfort. Bright, purple hair cascaded down her back in waves, and a bright, golden wall of energy shimmered around her.

Her mouth was in a grin, eyes slowly scanning Kagome.

"Well now, you must be the new girl," she said, smiling.

"Umm… Yeah, that'd be me. Kagome," she said, extending a hand.

"I'm Yoruichi," she responded brightly, energy surging into Kagome when she grabbed her hand.

"Is Kisuke around?" Ichigo asked.

"He's down in the basement. _So_, I hear Uryuu's not the only Quincy around anymore," the woman said as Ichigo headed through a doorway.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"So how's Karakura treating you?"

"It's definitely better than the city," Kagome said with a shrug.

"I'll bet. So, who're you?" she asked, eying the kit still hanging tight on Kagome's back.

"I'm Shippo!" he said, sliding down to the floor. "Nice to meet you!"

"Well, you're a cute little guy," Yoruichi said, kneeling down and scratching his head.

Kagome smirked as Shippo gave a pleased sound, Yoruichi's scratching hand directly between the fox ears that were magically hidden.

"So, you know what I am, and what Shippo is," Kagome started, "but I can't get anything from you."

"That'd be because I'm that good," the woman said, smirking. "But since you asked so nicely, I used to be a Shinigami before they tried to execute Kisuke and I got his ass outta' there. I heard about _your _trip there."

"Really? How? I just got back!"

"Kisuke's got a _very _good information network," she responded, smirking. "So you took on the Captains. Gutsy. I like gutsy."

Kagome already liked this woman, and found her honesty refreshing.

Ichigo and Urahara appeared then, and Yoruichi stood up with a smirk.

"Why, hello there, Kagome," Urahara said, grinning.

"Hello. Before anything else, I'm gonna' have to thank you," Kagome sighed. "I probably would've been stupid, except for that warning you gave me about the Shinigami."

"No problem. Anytime the old man gets embarrassed, I count it as a win," the blond said, grinning broadly. "Ichigo just said you need me for something. Tell me you're not looking for a date."

"Lech," Ichigo growled, glaring at him.

"Ummm… _No_. You're… what? Twenty years older than me?" Kagome quipped.

"Ah, you wound me," Urahara laughed, showing mock pain. "But actually, it's probably closer to a few hundred years. So what can I do for you?"

"I beat Zetsumei. And it looks like, in retrospect, that may have been a bad idea, because I got the attention of his boss."

"_Really_?" he asked, joking mood gone in a flash. "You beat the Espada? Well, it's a shame I missed seeing that."

"I'd agree, but almost dying makes any victory kind of moot. So, whoever this Aizen is, I think it'll be much worse than Zetsumei. I need to learn how to hide my energy."

"Well, I could teach you how to do that. But it'd take a bit of time. How long do you have here?"

"I told my mom I'd be back in two days."

"Hmm… I could teach you, but it'd probably take more than two days… I can give you something to do it for you, though."

"Really?"

"Give me a sec," he said, vanishing from sight.

In a few seconds, he flashed back into existence holding a small, silver bracelet. Oddly enough, Kagome could no longer feel his aura, his energy, or anything that told her supernatural senses he existed in that room with her.

"Here ya' go," he said, extending the bracelet.

Warily, she grabbed the jewelry. The second her skin came into contact with it, a strange, muffling sensation covered her.

Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise, staring at her.

"Damn! I can't feel her at all!"

"That's my genius at work," Urahara said, grinning and now clearly there in Kagome's muffled senses. "It's made from soul-synthesized silver. It's a special alloy that blocks spiritual frequencies. As long as you're wearing it, you've got a barrier just barely under your skin. Your powers will still be accessible, but completely covert and when you're not using them, you'll seem almost nonexistent. It should even cover up the Shikon."

"Really?" she asked, eyes wide in amazement. "That's… incredible…"

"You're welcome," he said, grinning. "Be sure to come on by whenever you're back in Karakura. If Uryuu got you to the point that you beat an Espada in less than a week, I can't _imagine _what I could get you to be able to do."

Kagome was vaguely aware of the fact that if he wasn't as old as she now realized he was, that could've been taken an entirely different way, and Ichigo seemed to realize it too, going by his glare.

"Sure thing. Thanks again," she said, turning to leave.

"Bye! I'll be at Uncle Uryuu's, momma," Shippo called before taking off.

Wordlessly, Ichigo escorted her out, heading for Uryuu's.

"Well, I think I get what you were saying about him being weird, not crazy," Kagome said after they'd made a bit of distance in silence. "He might be smarter than I gave him credit."

"Smart, yeah, but eccentric as hell," Ichigo sighed.

"I didn't thank _you _yet," she said, eying him. "Thanks for trusting me to take care of Zetsumei myself and watching over Shippo."

"I feel like shit for not helping sooner," he sighed, nervously scratching his head. "You almost died."

"It worked out," Kagome said with a shrug. "I'm tired, but breathing, and Zetsumei's not. At the end of today, that's all that really matters. Thanks to this bracelet, I'm not expecting to fight any more Espada."

"Damn straight," he said, grinning. "So, you've still got two days left planned on this vacation."

"Yeah… But I don't know if I should stay and bug Uryuu anymore."

"Hmm… Well, Uryuu could use something keeping him on his toes," the Shinigami laughed. "Tell you what. If you stay, I'll make it worth your while."

"Oh?" she asked, eyes wide in curiosity. "And how's that?"

"How about a date tomorrow?" he asked, making her trip in her pace falter and her eyes widen in surprise…

A/N:

Hope you enjoyed the banter, and the introduction to Yoruichi. As always, leave your opinions on my work. See you next time!


	26. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Date

Kagome came to consciousness at noon, her mood _very _good.

She moved around the room, practically whistling as she sifted through her clothes bag and came up with something decent. She was brought out of her musings by a small, childish laugh.

She spun to find Shippo staring at her, a knowing smirk on his face.

"You're happy this morning."

"Yup," she said, grinning. "I've got something good planned for this afternoon."

"Is it with Ichigo?" he asked, making her eyes widen in surprise.

She stared at him, his young laughter making her turn red.

"You're not very good at hiding things, momma. And you were in a good mood ever since you got back to the house, and you weren't in that good a mood before we left Mr. Urahara's."

"I forget sometimes how observant you are," Kagome mused, her face a dull scarlet. "Ichigo asked me out last night. I said yes," she added, smiling embarrassedly.

"Well, I'm glad," her kit said, smiling. "It's about time you got over Inubaka."

Smile saddening slightly, Kagome sat down on her bed.

"Give me _some _credit, Shippo," she said, smirking. "I've been over Inuyasha since that happened between us and Kikyo. And I like Ichigo… He makes me feel better than I did with Inuyasha in the beginning. I'm hoping that if nothing else, we stay close friends after I leave Karakura."

"Well, I'm happy for you," he said, smiling.

A few minutes later, Kagome went out, stopping at the door briefly.

"Have fun with Yuzu, Shippo!" she called as she went.

She'd finally figured out which one of the sisters her son had a crush on, and she couldn't help but tease him. She couldn't help but laugh when she _felt _his embarrassment, and she showed up at Ichigo's house in high spirits.

A few seconds after ringing the doorbell, she came face-to-face with a tall, imposing man. He looked like an older, grizzled Ichigo, intelligent brown eyes swept across her, and she couldn't help but feel the amazing power coming from the man.

And then, the tough image was shattered when a big, goofy grin took form, seeming to smooth out every hard edge that had existed.

"Hey, Ichigo, get your ass out here!" he called over his shoulder.

Turning back to her, he smirked.

"So, you must be Kagome. Even more impressive than I'd heard," he laughed. "Even more impressive than I'd think Ryu's niece would be," he added, eying her, "for a Quincy."

"You know Uncle Ryuken?"

"We go _way _back!" he said, grinning. "You going into the medical thing, too?"

"Pre-med, in a few weeks, hopefully," she said, nodding.

"Heh. Well, I'm always looking for more help. You want a job at my clinic?"

"Are you serious?" Kagome asked, surprised and curious about the offer.

Before he could respond, Ichigo appeared.

"See you later, dad," he grunted.

Kagome followed him, smirking at the embarrassed shade coloring his face.

"Sorry. Dad's a little weird. The fact that he didn't jump you is actually weirder than I'm used to."

"He said he knows Uncle Ryuken," Kagome mused.

"They're both doctors, and I guess they were friends when they were younger," Ichigo explained. "So, what do ya' wanna' do? We've got the whole day, pretty much."

"Hmm… Well, I haven't seen a movie in ages," Kagome said, frowning in thought.

"I guess there's not much chance to go to a theater before electricity, huh?" he quipped, smirking.

"Yeah, pretty much," she agreed. "So, is there anything good in?"

"Probably," he said, gently grabbing her hand and leading her down a series of different roads.

After several minutes of walking, they came to a stop at a small, round building. When they went inside, they quickly found a promising-sounding movie.

The movie turned out to be a dark comedy, and by the time it finished, Kagome found that they had similar tastes.

When they came out of the theater, they were still laughing and it was late.

"Wow," Kagome said, seeing the lowering sun. "That movie was _long_!"

"But worth it," Ichigo said, grinning.

"Absolutely," she agreed. "I haven't laughed like that in a long time."

"You want to get dinner?" he asked, looking at the sun.

"Sure," she said, nodding.

He lead her down another series of streets, finally ending up in another small building, a homey family restaurant feeling flooding Kagome's senses as they walked in.

After they ordered, Kagome got comfortable in the small, soft seat and leaned in, a smile on her face.

"So, you said you want to know more about me?" she asked, smiling.

"Yeah. You're very interesting, but I don't know much besides you're powerful as all hell, your kid's got a crush on one of my sisters, and you're Uryuu's mysterious cousin."

"Feeling protective of them?" Kagome quipped, smiling. "Shippo's pretty different than the other boys you'll have to beat off with sticks when those two are older," she laughed.

"Yeah, well, I'm almost there now," he groaned. "But seriously, give me _something_. The whole time-travelling thing's interesting."

"Okay… Well, I think I can give you something… Umm… Oh! In the past, I had an extended family."

"Oh? How's that?"

"I had an older brother and sister," she said, smiling. "Sango was my best friend. She was rough, but the best girl I ever had the pleasure of knowing. She was older than me by two years, and while we were traveling, she came to be protective of me like I am for Souta. Then there was Miroku."

"Weird names," he observed.

"Weirder than Ichigo?" she quipped, smiling. "He was my 'older brother' and Sango's husband. He was also a perverted monk, as weird as that is, and he taught me a lot about how to use my powers… which I can now do, thanks to Uryuu. They were amazing. No matter what kind of mood I was in, they always cheered me up."

"Wow. That sounds pretty good," Ichigo said, smiling.

"It was," she said, the memories of her friends making her smile sadden somewhat.

The rest of the evening passed with amiable conversation, Kagome thoroughly enjoying the time spent with Ichigo.

After the delicious meal, they began heading for Uryuu's, holding hands and smiling like idiots.

When they reached Uryuu's street, Kagome squeezed his hand, grinning.

"Thanks for the great time, Ichigo."

"So, did I make sticking around worth your while?"

"_Definitely_," she said, smile softening. "Thanks for making my first date so fun."

"This was your first date?" he asked, eyes wide.

"Mm-hmm," she said, nodding and fighting off her blush.

"Heh. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said, smiling. "Guess there's only one thing left to do," he added, making her notice that they were at Uryuu's door.

Slowly, she turned to him, face burning and eyes locked with his.

"What's that?"

Smirking, he slowly ducked the inch that made him taller than her.

Her breath shallow, Kagome stiffened as he leaned in. As he inched closer to her, her face became a bright shade of tomato-red, and she felt herself stirring in anticipation.

And then, their lips met, and Kagome could swear fireworks were going off in her head. Her heart beat a rapid tempo against her chest, going almost unnoticed thanks to her brain being focused on only the connection between them.

Several seconds later found Ichigo reluctantly pulling away, smiling softly.

"A kiss goodnight," he said, squeezing her hand.

Kagome remained rooted to the spot, eyes wide and body burning. Slowly, her mouth told her brain that he wasn't connected to her anymore, and she felt a smile curling her lips.

"Wow… _Definitely _a good first date," she said, smiling like a fool.

"That's good," he said, grinning and bright red himself.

Kagome's addled mind vaguely registered the fact that he looked relieved on top of the multiple other things coloring his expression, and she realized that he'd probably been as nervous as she had been.

"We've gotta' do this again. Sometime _very _soon, if possible," she said, her voice breathy.

"Definitely," he agreed.

He slowly leaned in and gave her another kiss, this time her body responding and returning the kiss in full. Before either suffocated, they mutually released the connection, both still smiling.

"Then I guess I should be getting inside," Kagome found herself saying, still smiling.

"See you tomorrow, then," he responded, giving her hand a final squeeze before turning and vanishing into the dusk.

Kagome slowly went inside, positive that her face would never return to its normal color and her mouth would never stop smiling again…

A/N:

And so, the first date! I have no idea how to write romantic scenes, but I think it came out well. Hope you thoroughly enjoyed, and will leave your opinions. See you next time!


	27. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Last Day

Kagome woke up about mid-day, the smile still existent on her face. Memories of her first date filled her mind, and she couldn't help but feel _amazing_.

Slowly, though, other things began to fill her sleepy brain. Such as the fact that this was her last day in Karakura.

That thought lead her elsewhere; the debate she'd been having since Ichigo had asked her out as to whether she should stay longer, or go and see where Kikyo and Inuyasha were.

Thanks to Ichigo, she felt that she'd have a lot less of a problem facing the other side of the well now.

With a sigh, she got up, noticing that Shippo was already gone.

When she went out to the kitchen in hunt of breakfast, she found Uryuu reading the newspaper, not really seeming to see it.

"Morning, Uryuu!" she called chipperly, making him jump.

"Hello, Kagome," he said, glaring at her playful smile. "You move more quietly than I thought. Guess Urahara's bracelet really works," he grumbled.

"Yep! So, anyways, I was thinking about maybe coming back to Karakura for a few days, once I have everything settled in Tokyo. Would you be okay with that?"

"Okay? Hell, it's like you're barely here. You're not bugging me," he said with a shrug.

"Thanks," she said, taking the chair opposite him. "And thank you for helping me. And being an amazing teacher."

"Flattery'll get you nowhere," he quipped.

"Not flattering you. Just thankful. I came here on the run, and now I feel like I can use these powers you taught me to take down the other bastard making my life miserable."

"I'm glad I could help. I've got to admit, though, that it kind of pisses me off. What took me from a young age to learn took you less than a week. I thought _I _was a prodigy."

Kagome stared at him, realizing he was legitimately pissed about it. Going for a moment of blunt honesty, she gave a sigh and straightened in her chair.

"Don't take it personally. I think the Shikon no Tama's helping me somehow."

"What?"

"I can't explain it… It's like my brain's become a recorder, letting me learn everything quickly. I don't have an idea how it's doing it, but I'm pretty sure it is."

"It can do that?"

"It shouldn't be able to," she said, frowning. "But I'm _not _this fast a learner. And there've been times since I got here where the thing's literally seemed to have a mind of its own."

"That doesn't sound so good," he said, staring apprehensively at the half-moon lump hanging around her neck.

"No, it doesn't. I'm going to look into some things when I get back home. So, anyway, thanks."

She slowly stood up, having finished her small breakfast while they were talking.

"I'm going to visit Uncle Ryuken before I head home."

"I'll come with you," he said, rising.

"Really?" she asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

He simply shrugged, and they headed out. Before they made it ten steps, a familiar energy took form. They turned to find Ichigo standing there, seeming surprised to see them.

"Hey, Ichigo," Kagome said, blush starting again with a vengeance.

"Hi. Figured I'd see you off," he said, grinning.

"Not leaving yet. We're just headed to see Uncle Ryuken. I want to talk to him about something, before I go."

A loud, peeling ringing sound came from inside the house, and a warily glaring Uryuu vanished inside.

"Thanks again for last night," she said once she was positive Uryuu wouldn't hear them.

"Oh, no thanks necessary. Trust me," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

"So… I'm thinking I'll be coming by Karakura often," she stated, smiling.

"Yeah?" he asked, taking the few steps to pass the distance between them. "Hmm… I know a guy who'd love that."

"Uryuu already said I can stay at his house," Kagome said, grinning.

"I was thinking of someone much less related to you," he laughed.

"Oh? Who could that be?"

"Smart-ass."

"It's one of my charms," she said with a shrug, smiling.

"One of many," he responded, leaning forward for a kiss.

Before their lips met, the door opened, and Uryuu glared heatedly at Ichigo, worry undercutting his expression.

"It's for you, Kagome," he said shortly.

"Me?" she asked, reluctantly turning her attention from Ichigo.

"Yeah. Your mom," he said, shrugging.

Kagome quickly went inside, going for the phone with a strange sense of dread hitting her hard.

When she picked up the phone, she quickly found out why.

"Momma?"

"Kagome! Kagome, something horrible's happened!" her mother yelled, voice filled with terror.

"What?"

"The well-"

Before her mother could finish, a loud explosion went off in the background. And then, the phone went dead, Kagome's hand white-knuckled and making the phone creak under the pressure.

Kagome immediately rushed for the door, barely noticing the other two as she took off…

A/N:

And another cliffhanger! As always, leave your opinions. See you next time!


	28. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language

Crash

Kagome launched through the air, not noticing Ichigo and Uryuu following.

What had taken her more than an hour on bike now took her less than a minute. Her Hirenyaku rapidly brought her closer to her home, and as she reached the Tokyo city limits, she saw angry, billowing clouds of smoke rising into the air.

She pushed herself harder, heart pounding in her chest as she forced as much speed from her legs as possible.

And then, she reached her home, and her heart skipped a beat.

The well house was utterly destroyed, charred wood and antiques lying across the entire shrine grounds. The well inside was cracked and broken, but still giving off a hint of the power still in it.

Her house was much worse off. Flames licked along the top floor, showing in various holes and massive gouges in the wall and roof.

As horrible as the sight was, something else was there, far more disturbing and terrifying than her fear for her family. There was a heavy, cloying energy lying like a deadly blanket around her home.

Suddenly realizing she was staring at her burning house and feeling the men's presences, she took off.

"Give me some help here," she called over her shoulder.

The two took off after her, just as shocked as she was. They ran through the burning house, quickly locating the people within.

In a matter of seconds, they were out again. On the shrine grounds lay three people.

Kagome stared in shock at her grandfather, his skin tone the pallor of death and his body not moving. Her mother was cut and bleeding, unconscious. And Souta was in shock, his wide eyes staring up at the sky unblinkingly.

Kagome knelt down, gently gripping his face until his eyes took on a small semblance of awareness. And then, he sat up, pressing into Kagome and holding on for dear life.

"Souta, what happened?" Kagome asked, panic impossible to keep out of her voice.

"Ka… Kagome! They came out of the well!"

"Who came out?" Kagome asked, body tensing.

"I thought only you could get through," he babbled, body shaking.

"Souta, who came through?" she repeated, the energy in the air making her blood run cold.

He pulled back a little, eyes flooding and a bloody trail coming from his chin catching her attention.

"Inuyasha. And a lady that looks like you. And a monster," he said, shuddering.

Slowly, his eyes rolled into the back of his skull, and he went limp in her arms.

Kagome sat speechless for several seconds, staring at her burning house.

Slowly, she laid her brother on the ground, making sure not to jostle him.

"Uryuu, make sure they're okay when I get back," she said, her voice arctic and her body aching from how tense her muscles were.

"Back? From where?" he asked, voice worried.

Without a word, she took off. In a quick, graceful move, she took the well, hand planted on the lip as she flipped inside. Brilliant blue light covered her as she passed through, the familiar warmth not giving her anywhere near the comfort it used to.

The sensation quickly vanished, and with one leap, she cleared the other end of the well, which was no little more than a hole in the ground.

Her heart stopped when she came up, her eyes wide and filling with tears.

Inuyasha's Forest was _decimated_. What had been a long stretch of lush, green trees and beautiful nature no longer existed.

In its place was a mass grave of trees. Hundreds of tree stumps, burning fallen trees, and blackened soil stretched as far as she could see.

A sense of energy behind her made Kagome spin, ready to fight. Her aggressive posture immediately vanished when she saw who the energies belonged to.

Sesshomaru and Kouga stood tall, both of them eying her with a different kind of expression.

The regal inu taiyoukai eyed her with wariness, hand hanging just over the hilt of the Bakusaiga. Kouga was staring at her as though she were a ghost, his eyes wide.

Both of them were bleeding, though as expected, Sesshomaru showed no pain from his wounds.

Kouga's left leg was heavily bleeding, a big chunk showing near his ankle. And the Shikon shard's energy was missing, a faint flicker of it remaining in his other leg.

"What the hell happened?" she asked, eyes narrowed.

"Tch. That bastard," Kouga growled.

"I see you're not dead, miko," Sesshomaru added, eying her.

"Yeah, well I'm not so sure. Want to tell me what the hell happened here?"

"Naraku vanished into that well that was sitting there," Kouga growled.

Her suspicion confirmed, Kagome felt her anger rapidly rising to a boiling point…

A/N:

Inu- dog

Taiyoukai- basically a step above strong demons

Bakusaiga- This is Sesshomaru's sword after he masters the Tensaiga's power in the manga

And so, it begins. Hope you're enjoying. As always, leave your opinions of my work. See you next time!


	29. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language

Aftermath

"Talk fast," Kagome said, the energy in the air making her feel sick. "This is worse than horrible."

"I sensed the half-breed's power," Sesshomaru stated. "When I got here, the wolf cub was here as well. We arrived to find Naraku attempting to climb into that well."

"We didn't have a clue why," Kouga added. "But I noticed the barrier keeping his ass out. Your work?"

"And Kaede and Miroku," Kagome said, nodding.

"Unfortunately, the bastard had dog-breath and the undead bitch with him. I hate to admit it, but Naraku and that bastard can fight better than I thought. They managed to keep us busy while the miko broke the barrier to pieces."

Suddenly, a sword was pointed at Kagome, and Sesshomaru's cold eyes were narrowed.

"And now for my answers. Why do you stink of death, miko?"

Kagome lifted her hand, pushing away his sword with narrowed eyes. She vaguely felt the sharp bite as the metal cut her palm, but she was numb from the betrayal she'd just learned of.

Slowly, she turned back to the well, teeth grinding.

"Kouga, I need that jewel shard. I'll seal the well when I go through, and you'll never have to deal with Naraku or Inuyasha again," she stated coldly.

The wolf's eyes widened in shock, and Sesshomaru took a step forward, his surprise quickly hidden as his sword came to bear.

"If the half-breed went through the well, wherever it leads, this Sesshomaru will track him, and slaughter him."

"Don't let wounded pride make you as stupid as him," Kagome stated, this time shock clearly showing in the inu's expression.

"Miko, do not think me as pathetic as your pet," Sesshomaru stated with a hint of growl.

She turned to face him in confusion, eyes narrowed.

With a glower, he simply lifted the blade, pointing over his shoulder with it. She followed where it was pointing, and her eyes widened in shock.

Leaning back against a broken tree was Rin, Sesshomaru's human ward. She was heavily bleeding, Inuyasha's energy oozing from a slash-wound across her chest.

"The half-breeds managed to get me into a corner, and she attempted to get in their way, the stupid human."

Kagome felt her energy, her life force rapidly leaving the small girl. But it wasn't gone yet.

Without hesitation, she reached out and agony lanced through her arm as she grabbed the Tenseiga from its sheath. Before the surprised Sesshomaru could react, Kagome ran towards Rin, a dozen small imps wrapping chains around the girl's dainty frame.

"The Tenseiga only brings life once, miko," Sesshomaru stated, tones of worry and sadness coming through to Kagome's senses.

"Yeah, well, that's tough," Kagome growled, the skin of her hand starting to get a nasty burn from the sparking sword.

The imps looked up at her, surprised that she was staring at them.

"Yeah, I can see you, bastards," she hissed, swinging the Tenseiga.

The blade passed harmlessly through them, and they stared at her intently, seeming to mock her.

"Had to check," she grunted. "The way I figure it, without the invisibility, you guys are just like every other demon," she hissed, a silver glow covering her free hand.

She quickly swept her hand through their ranks, all twelve pallbearers of death instantly turning to ash along with the chain on Rin's body.

Dropping the Tenseiga, Kagome knelt next to Rin, looking over her wounds.

"Hang on, Rin," she grunted, her power flowing through her body into her palms, which were now solid sheets of silver energy.

With Rin's soul no longer in danger, Kagome only had the physical wounds to worry about. And _that_ she could handle.

She gently put her hands on the girl's forehead and heart, power instantly washing over her and making her glow as well.

Rin panted in shallow breaths, making Kagome feel the need to hurry despite knowing it could make things worse.

She closed her eyes, concentrating. She felt in her mind's eye as her power seeped into the innocent girl's form. The dainty body arched against her hands as though she'd run electricity through her.

The energy inside of the sword wounds quickly evaporated under Kagome's purifying power. Slowly, Kagome _felt _the wounds stitching themselves closed. Finally, there was no other injuries marring the girl, and Kagome fell back, gasping in breaths.

Gradually, she got herself under control, and she pushed herself to her feet, her hand's burning acutely making itself known.

She turned to find both canines staring in stunned silence at her, Sesshomaru's expression uncharacteristically open.

"Inuyasha and Kikyo are with Naraku. In my time. They came after my family," she stated, calming slightly. "Rin will be fine now."

"This Sesshomaru will kill them," Sesshomaru growled, eyes narrowed.

"No, you won't. You'll stay here, where you belong, and take care of that innocent girl. If it comes down to it, I promise you that I will be the one to kill all of them," she added.

Slowly, she lifted the Tenseiga, raising a barrier this time to avoid further agony.

"Here you go, Lord Sesshomaru," she said, handing him back the blade.

"Miko, what did you just do?"

"It's not important. Rin will be fine. She'll probably be very tired, though, so you need to look after her. Kouga, jewel shard. Now," she said, extending a hand.

Speechless, the wolf grabbed the jewel shard out of his leg and handed it over, silver light flooding her hand as soon as she touched it.

Slowly, she pushed it into her chunk of the Shikon, and with a burst of her qi, it fused.

She walked towards the well, preparing for the fight waiting for her in her time.

"This is goodbye," she said, standing at the edge of the well. "I'm going to guess forever."

"Wait, Kagome!" Kouga shouted.

"Sorry. I can't. My job's done here… Have good lives. The both of you. And Sesshomaru, you'd better believe I'll haunt you if you don't help that girl reach the potential she has in her."

With that, she stepped forward, open air taking her.

The last image she had of the Sengoku Jidai was a shocked and horrified Kouga, staring wildly at her while Sesshomaru stood over the now-healed Rin, his expression thankful and totally out of place on his regal face…

A/N:

Kagome's coming off as more of a bad-ass than I had originally planned. Which is good. Hope you're enjoying. As always, be sure to tell me your thoughts. See you next time!


	30. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Strong Language

Nightmare

Kagome came through the well, her confirmation making her nauseous.

As soon as she cleared the well, a dull ache formed in her chest. In a small flash of black light, the well vanished into nothingness, not a trace of it left anywhere.

Numb, Kagome took hold of the energy in the air and began moving. She was vaguely aware of the fact that there were a _lot _more people then when she'd left, and that every one of them was watching her with a mixture of shock or awe. She was also vaguely aware of the fact that her home was no longer burning, looking as good as new under a dome of yellow light.

Ignoring it, she focused intently on the energy trail. She was so intent she didn't register her friends following closely behind, eyes locked on her.

She quickly took off, the energy making her anger quickly coil back into existence. She came to a skidding stop less than a minute later, barely away from the shrine. A group of four people were walking along the deserted road, seeming to be on a leisurely place.

"_Naraku_!" Kagome yelled, standing tall.

Slowly, the four stopped moving and turned towards her, her body ready to let out her anger at any second.

The tall, black-haired man eyed her, a sadistic sneer forming.

"Hello, _Kagome_," he said, voice like razor blades against her nerves. "So _good _to see you. I suppose chasing after you is no longer an issue, now. I rather like your time. I'm actually a little surprised that you were able to follow us, or that you did."

"I'm not running," Kagome stated, grabbing her bracelet.

She looked over the group, fists clenching.

Naraku stood tall, his energy like an evil blanket looking to choke her through the air.

And to his side were the real focuses of Kagome's anger.

Kikyo stood tall, her expression cold and regal, a dark black bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows strapped to her back, her miko robes a dark shade of obsidian.

Next to her, Inuyasha was crouched, his eyes bright, blood-red. His mouth was open in a hiss, fangs seeming larger than any other transformation.

"Wow, you've fallen," she said, staring at the hanyo. "That your work?" she added to Kikyo.

The sight of her first love so weak made something inside her hurt, but her anger over the situation beat down any sympathy she might have had.

"No. It's mine," Naraku said with a sneer. "Without you around, my jewel has done _wonders _for his personality, I think. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Naraku, your time to talk comes later. Right now, I've got one question," Kagome stated, her voice seeming to cool the air around her.

"And what's that, _dear Kagome_?" Naraku asked.

With a glare, she pointed at the white-haired hanyo.

"Tell me, you bastard," she snarled at Inuyasha. "Tell me how the fuck you became this pathetic!"

He gave no response, simply tensing as though the only thing separating him from her was some kind of leash.

Kagome stared at Inuyasha, her eyes narrowed and welling with tears.

"Inuyasha… You bastard. It wouldn't be this bad if Naraku or the dead bitch were the ones who did it, but _you _are the one who attacked my family. _Your _energy was the one my dead grandfather reeked of, and _yours _was the energy around Souta. You attacked Souta, who looked up to you like a hero, and my family, who never treated you as anything but Inuyasha. I want to know why."

He simply smirked, fangs glistening.

"Well that's simple, Kagome," he stated, surprising her. "They annoyed me," he added, voice a deep, ground-shaking timbre.

"Well, look at that. He speaks," Kagome said, drawing her energy inwards. "Inuyasha, listen to me, and listen well. You too, you excuses for flesh," she growled to Kikyo and Naraku. "Right here, I swear to all of you, I'm going to kill you. First you, Naraku. Then you, Inuyasha. You, and your whore," she added, glaring to the calm miko.

"My, my! So _bold_, Kagome! Tell me, whatever happened to the pure little girl!" Naraku laughed.

"Say what you want, Naraku, but the facts are the facts. You're the epitome of evil, and you've had my family attacked just now. I'm _very _protective of my family, and I want the Shikon no Tama out of existence. Going through you solves both problems," she stated, her arms tingling with energy.

"I wonder where this bravado comes from? Did you see Inuyasha's Forest?"

"I saw it. I've improved since your monstrosity threw me into the well after killing my friends and loved ones. So here's how the rest of this night's going to go," she growled, hair rising on an unseen wind and power crackling along her body. "I might not be able to kill all three of you on my own. Actually, I probably can't, with two backstabbers and an idiot against me. But I will _damn well _give it my best try. So I hope you've had fun lives, because for my hurt and killed family, I'm going to return the favor right now."

"So bold!" Naraku laughed. "Do you find this all amusing?" he asked over his shoulder.

Kagome's attention shifted behind the three. Behind them was Kagura, the sight making something stir in Kagome.

The wind sorceress was hunched over, her side covered in blood. Her ornate kimono was badly ripped and torn, and Kagome realized that neither the canines nor Souta had mentioned the witch being there. Suddenly, she wondered what had happened to her.

It was clear Kagura was injured and in pain, her red eyes narrowed into hateful slits on Naraku… who was suddenly holding a beating heart in his palm…

A/N:

And so, we have the beginnings of the fight! Hope you enjoyed the build-up. See you next time!


	31. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Gore, Violence, Language

Tragedy

"Is that a heart!"

"Kagura, hold dear Kagome down," Naraku stated, giving the form in his hand a squeeze.

The sorceress gave a gasp, pure agony flashing through her red eyes.

With a staggering start, the witch charged at Kagome, fans in her hands. Kagome prepared for her, building energy into her palms. If Kagura was going to listen to Naraku, then she, too, was going to die.

But with how reluctantly she seemed to be following orders, Kagome made sure to build enough power to end it in an instant, sparing the witch any pain.

And then, she really took notice of Kagura's eyes. Or rather, the anger- and pain-induced tears coming from her eyes. Kagome dove backwards out of the witch's way, _really _not wanting to hurt her now.

"You noticed?" Naraku mocked. "You see, Kagome, Kagura is my slave. She's absolutely obedient to me. Not because she likes me. I'm positive you've noticed her constant betrayals."

Kagura flipped her fan open, building youki around her.

"She's obedient when it counts because, as you can see, I _literally _hold her heart in my hands," he laughed, showing the heart like it was a trophy.

"Miko, kill me," Kagura growled, advancing on her.

Kagome's stance on Kagura's life drastically switched her from aggressor needing to be beaten to victim and another pawn to Naraku.

"Not gonna' happen," she sighed.

"Dance of Blades," Kagura called, swinging her fan down.

In that instant, Kagome moved. Her Hirenyaku made her body seem to disappear. Every one of the people littering the street looked around in confusion, even Uryuu and Ichigo unable to sense where she was. Then, they found her again, directly to Naraku's side. She was behind Inuyasha and Kikyo, all of them staring at her in shock.

Eyes wide, the hanyo could do nothing as Kagome's hand shot up.

In another instant, she was next to Kagura, the beating heart in her hand and oddly enough, seeming to have no blood.

Kagome held the heart, eyes narrowed in concentration.

Suddenly, Kagura let out a scream as both the heart and her flashed with pure, silver light.

Her scream reached a new volume and pitch when a hole opened in her chest, light pouring forth.

And then, the hole closed, and she fell unconscious to the ground. And Kagome's hand was empty, the heart no longer there but beating a strong, steady rhythm in the unconscious witch's chest.

"Would you look at that?" Kagome asked, voice laced with sarcasm. "Now you don't have her heart in your hands."

"You… What did you just do!" Naraku asked, eyes narrowed.

"It's called Hirenyaku," she stated, now becoming aware of her friends standing back, seeming to be too stunned to move.

"Guess what? I can do more than grab things from under your nose, too."

Slowly, she pulled the bracelet from her wrist. The instant it cleared her wrist, her power flashed into its full force, the three of them taking a step back in response.

Her other bracelet fell down into existence, and her Quincy bow took form, shimmering along her hand.

Taking aim, she quickly fired arrow after arrow at the stunned Inuyasha, who managed to avoid getting hurt by sheer instinct. He quickly began to duck under her shots, her anger becoming more apparent with every one she fired.

"My, why so angry, Kagome?" Kikyo's mocking voice asked, the sound sickening Kagome.

"Oh, I have plenty of reasons to be pissed," Kagome stated, still firing arrows at the dodging hanyo. "Let's start with how this all got started. Just an hour after you two left the village, one of his incarnations attacked. I watched helplessly as Miroku and Sango were butchered by the bastard."

"Your incompetence isn't on me, reincarnation," Kikyo responded coldly.

"No? I wasn't incompetent. It was a surprise attack, and it was your crappy teaching that made it so I couldn't fight him off well. And I _still _won, in the end. Then, I get here and have the joy of fighting a modern-day demon. To protect _your _jewel, I left my home and learned to control new powers that got me hurt like hell when learning them," she added, watching as Inuyasha drew closer.

"I go through all of this, the entire time worried about protecting my family, and then, what happens? _Inuyasha _attacks and almost kills my family here, and you've whored yourself out to the guy who killed you in the first place. You want to talk about pissed? I've got _plenty _of reasons!"

On the last sentence, she poured a massive amount of energy into her newest arrow and it launched like an explosive harpoon for Inuyasha's head.

Suddenly, his sword flared with power. Kagome brought an explosion of energy into her feet, launching herself skidding backwards.

When she came to a stop, she found that the slash had been closer than she would've liked, a sharp, cold pain filling the edge of her neck.

The air whistled to her side, and she brought her Quincy bow up, smashing Kikyo's arrow to pieces.

She was now focused intently on the two, bow held tight and power flooding the air around her.

Unfortunately, she was too focused on the _two _of them. She was distracted by them until it was too late, just as they'd wanted.

A sharp pain filled Kagome's chest, agony ripping through her entire body.

She felt blood leaking from her mouth, and slowly looked down, her face a mask of horror.

Stabbed through her chest, just to the right of her heart, was a sharp, spiky black tentacle. It was covered in gore, seeming to hold her on the tips of her feet.

To her side, where she hadn't been watching, stood a sneering Naraku, the tentacle coming from his back.

She felt her heart begin to slow, tears forming.

As she began to die, she looked over to find the same kind of horror she was experiencing on her friends' faces. And a whole different level on Uryuu's and Ichigo's, Orihime, Urahara, and Yoruichi around them.

She felt the tentacle writhing around in her chest, sure it was what was keeping her alive while she should be dead.

"Well, isn't this a tragic end?" Naraku mocked. "Not as good as your lover's claws, but I think it'll do. I wonder… why aren't your friends coming to help you?" he mused, seeming to just notice them.

"That's because they're not sure what's happening right now. See, they're smarter than me, not rushing headlong into a fight."

"Are you sure?" he laughed.

Her retort was cut off when a blinding, fiery agony lanced through her chest, around the tentacle. Eyes tearing, she watched as her chest flashed with light, the Shikon no Tama glowing brighter by the second.

Then, it ignited, silver flames coating her entire chest. With a scream, she fell unconscious, pain blinding her.

She came to without knowing how long it had been. The tentacle was no longer there, a burning silver hole where it had been.

She knew she was dead. That was the only explanation for why she couldn't feel her heart beat.

And yet, somehow, she wasn't dead, shimmering walls of energy coating her body and seeming to take her heart's place in keeping her alive.

Slowly, she turned to a shocked Naraku, his body smoking from where his tentacle had been burned off.

"What the fuck is this!" he gasped, eyes wide in shock.

"Would you look at that?" Kagome asked, voice rough and raw-sounding. "It looks like the Shikon likes me."

The hanyo let out a snarl, eyes narrowed to hateful slits.

"Kill her," he hissed at Kikyo.

"I doubt I can, at this moment," she responded coldly. "But she, too, can only do so much, lest she use too much energy and become unable to be healed by the jewel," the kuromiko stated with a fearful, shocked glare.

"Then I suppose we leave, for now," Naraku growled.

Slowly, he began to lift into the air, a barrier forming and dragging Inuyasha and Kikyo with him…

A/N:

Kuromiko- evil priestess

And now the crap's really hit the fan! Hope you enjoyed, and as always, will leave your opinions. See you next time!


	32. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Questions

As soon as they were gone, Kagome dropped to her knees, staring at the glowing, slowly closing hole in her chest.

She felt the others' confusion as well, but that wasn't really important right now.

What was the most important thing on Kagome's mind was her confusion.

She should be dead. There was no question about the fact. In fact, she _was _dead. She still didn't feel her heart, and she was pretty sure Naraku had shredded the organ.

So that all begged the question; how the hell was she breathing, sitting there with her eyes open?

Her eyes again found the giant hole in her chest.

Suddenly, her level of terror spiked. A burst of silver light flooded the hole, seeming to become solid. And then, the light vanished, and she no longer had a hole. And she felt her heart beating again.

Slowly standing up, Kagome stared in silence as the silver energy surrounding her built into a tall pillar around her. And then it was gone, her body feeling like it had been put through running 100 miles.

Still, the memory of her grandfather got her moving, and as soon as she lifted the unconscious Kagura, she used Hirenyaku to get back to the shrine, sure one of them would say something soon.

She reached the shrine and her bow immediately took form. With a small explosion, she blew a hole into the soil several feet from the base of the Goshinboku.

She felt her friends once again reach her, standing on the steps of the shrine.

Without a word, she moved on autopilot. Not really looking, she gently lifted her grandfather's frail, damaged body and moved towards the hole she'd made.

As she laid him in the hole, she slowly began to feel tears forming. As she began to push the dirt into the hole on top of him, she began to shake. And when she evened out the small grave, she was openly sobbing.

The others stayed back, letting her wallow.

And then, suddenly Uryuu was at her side, a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She pressed into her cousin, her body shaking violently as the pain of what had happened mixed with the physical pain and the loss of everything the Sengoku Jidai had meant to her besides Shippo.

After what felt like hours, but could've been a minute for all Kagome was aware, her crying slowly came to a stop.

In place of the sobs, the image of her injured mother and brother came to mind, and with a thankful smile to Uryuu, she slowly rose from the ground.

"I… Do you think you two can help me? I need to get these three to a hospital," Kagome said, nodding to Uryuu and a concerned-looking Ichigo.

At once, they went to it, Uryuu lifting her mother and Ichigo gently lifting Souta. Kagome moved, lifting the unconscious witch again.

"We should take them to dad's hospital," Uryuu suggested.

With a nod, Kagome took off, the last tiny amounts of her energy vanishing the second she passed through the doors to the hospital.

They quickly followed, Yoruichi seeming to be how Orihime kept up with everyone else's speed. Uryuu quickly passed Kagome, heading for the receptionist.

"Mr. Ishida! What's happened!" the elderly woman gasped.

"I need a room with three beds," Uryuu bit out.

"Right away," the woman jumped, quickly punching in a number.

A man suddenly appeared in the lobby, placing the three onto rigid, wheeled tables. He quickly went down the hall with them, heading for an elevator.

"I'll have the room number as soon as I can, Mr. Ishida. What happened?" the receptionist asked.

"There was an explosion of some kind," Kagome said, turning away from the startled woman.

A frantic, fast-moving energy took form, and suddenly a ball of orange-red hair passed through the hospital doors.

"Momma!"

Kagome winced as she caught her son, her chest reminding her there'd been a hole in it less than a full minute ago.

"Hi, Shippo," she groaned.

The woman said something to Uryuu, and he gently tapped her shoulder. A quick elevator ride later, and Kagome was in a large, spacious hospital room, the three of them resting on soft-looking beds and Kagura looking extremely out of place in the modern setting, her bloody form making Kagome wish she had enough energy to heal her.

She quickly took a seat next to her brother, knowing her body would give out any second if she remained standing.

"Momma, I smell Bakayasha," Shippo said, eyes wide. "And graveyard soil! And _him_!"

"They're here, Shippo," she said dejectedly. "Somehow that monster managed to find out about the well, and now he's here with that idiot under his thumb and that doll working some kind of angle."

Shippo looked at the three on the beds, eyes getting wider as he dove backwards, hiding behind her.

"Kagura!"

"It's okay, Shippo," she sighed tiredly, comfortingly petting his head.

It was at that moment the others made their presences known. Unfortunately, the position she was in made her defenseless. She found herself surrounded, everyone seeming to keep her held in the corner, including Ryuken.

"Alright, Kagome. What the hell just happened?" Uryuu demanded.

"Give me a minute," the bone-tired miko practically growled.

"Like hell. I've been standing around like an idiot throughout the whole thing. I saw what happened. So explain it," he said, glaring at her…

A/N:

Hope you enjoyed. As always, be sure to leave your opinions. See you next time!


	33. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language

History

"I'll explain it," Kagome sighed. "But excuse me if I go off on a tangent at random points. I'm not happy with what's going on."

She slowly sat back, trying to let the tension bleed out of her overtaxed body.

"Those three were people from the Sengoku Jidai. The big, slimy one with the black hair was Naraku. I've gotta' say, that bastard getting the jump on me yet again wasn't fun," she added, noticing Shippo's intent focus on her. "That wasn't pleasant."

"Let's focus on your bizarre resurrection later," Uryuu stated.

"It's not bizarre. I can explain it," Kagome said testily. "It's just that what happened is scarier than Naraku being in my time."

"Really? You know what happened?" Yoruichi asked.

In response, Kagome slid her hand into the front of her shirt and came up with the Shikon no Tama, a brilliant white glow from it. Which brought another thought to her memory, and she quickly reached into her pocket and came out with the bracelet, its coating power quickly slipping over her.

"The Shikon no Tama apparently doesn't want me to die," Kagome sighed, staring intently at the jewel. "Or at least, not until it's complete."

"It thinks?" Urahara asked, eyes wide.

"What? You mean you built something based on this thing and you don't know how it was made?" Kagome asked, surprised.

"You mean to tell me that the souls are still alive in there?" he asked, shocked. "Even after all this time?"

"Whoa. What souls?" Yoruichi asked.

"The Shikon no Tama didn't always exist. There was an amazing miko named Midoriko. At some point, legions of demons began to eat each other and fuse until there were three collectives to take on Midoriko. She beat them, but at the cost of sealing her soul along with theirs into the jewel formed in her chest. Later on, that's where Kikyo comes in."

"Kikyo?"

"That'd be the… woman… with Naraku, that looks like me," she sighed, just barely managing to cut off the multiple colorful descriptions she could use at that moment.

"In the Sengoku Jidai, Kikyo was the miko that watched over the Shikon. And then, an insistent, white-haired hanyo named Inuyasha began to follow her, coming after the jewel. She would beat him every time, but never kill him. Over time, the two fell in love."

Her expression hardened, and she hid the jewel again.

"Kikyo found a bandit, burned nearly to death in a cave named Onigumo. She looked after the bandit, bringing him back to a semblance of health. The bandit fell in love with Kikyo, in his own sick way, and had heard of the Shikon no Tama. He wanted to see its beauty, saying that the misery of others brought said beauty out. He made a deal with demons. They feasted on his flesh, and the monster known as Naraku was born."

"He let them eat him!" Yoruichi gasped. "Damn, and I thought that Hollows were nasty."

"He was paralyzed, and couldn't really do anything. The first thing he did when he was reborn was to set in motion his scheme. He has the ability to shapeshift, and he took on the appearance of Inuyasha, attacking Kikyo and Inuyasha while their guards were down. And then, he just sat back and watched as first Inuyasha attacked Kikyo's village, stealing the Shikon no Tama, and then Kikyo sealed him with an arrow to the Goshinboku. Unfortunately for him, Kikyo had the jewel burned with her body, so he missed out on his goal."

She took a deep breath, quickly checking to make sure that her heart was still, in fact, beating.

"When I turned fifteen, I found out I was Kikyo's reincarnation. I found that information out by being dragged into an old well by a monster that took a bite out of my side, pulling the jewel out of me. I saved myself by releasing Inuyasha from Kikyo's bindings, and he killed the demon… Then, one thing lead to another, and I ended up shattering the Shikon no Tama into hundreds of shards with an arrow. He was pissed, I was feeling guilty, and so we ended up hunting down the shards through the Sengoku Jidai."

"Hang on," Uryuu said, eyes narrowed. "If Kikyo's dead, then what the hell-"

"I'm getting to that part," Kagome sighed impatiently. "A while into our search, an old witch pilfered Kikyo's grave, and built a clay doll. She used my soul to do it, but she managed to bring Kikyo back to life… sort of… At first, she had half my soul to run on, but then I gradually pulled more back into myself, making her feed on the souls of the dead to live. Inuyasha, the idiot that he is, follows her around like a lost puppy."

"Inu no baka," Shippo growled quietly behind her.

Smiling, Kagome scratched his ears, almost laughing when he began to purr.

"And it looks like somehow, Naraku found out about the well. I have half the jewel, and so does he, and the well works for the Shikon's power. It doesn't help that Kikyo, that bitch, was able to break the barrier that my friends and I built around the thing…"

"The white-haired guy didn't seem too intelligent," Urahara mused.

"Yeah. Usually, he's not a total idiot, but he loses his intelligence when he becomes a full-blooded demon. But this is all so messed up. As long as Inuyasha has that stupid sword, his demon blood should stay dormant. And he's never been able to talk while like that, either…"

"You said the jewel has an effect on you. That it's influencing things," Urahara mused. "I couldn't help but notice your shard's white, while something about Naraku seemed the exact opposite, pure darkness."

"The Shikon's the only cause I can think of," Kagome agreed.

"I don't get somethin', though," Ichigo sighed. "If this Naraku guy hated Inuyasha so much that he had him stuck to a tree for the foreseeable future, why would he want him on his side?"

"I don't have a clue. Naraku's always had a sick fascination with Kikyo, and I get that. Inuyasha'll follow Kikyo anywhere she goes. The Shikon could probably even keep him under Naraku's control. But I can't see what Naraku would get using the man who's come close to killing him multiple times," Kagome sighed tiredly.

"I think it makes sense," Shippo said, drawing all attention to him. "Think about it," he said with a shrug. "Bakayasha hates Naraku. And he's really, _really _good in a fight. With Kagura out, he doesn't have anymore incarnations, I think. So he wins twice, because he's got someone to do his dirty work, and he makes the idiot suffer."

"Hmmm… Yeah, that'd fit how his mind works," Kagome sighed.

"So, what's her story?" Uryuu asked, nodding towards the unconscious Kagura.

"Kagura is Naraku's oldest _child_," Kagome said, a shudder passing through her. "Thanks to my idiocy, Naraku managed to collect a large part of the Shikon. Using his new power, he started being able to take chunks of himself off and create new beings, calling them his children. He uses them as much like pawns as everything else… Kagura was the first. The first time we met, Inuyasha almost killed her."

"After that, she wasn't nearly as into it," Shippo added.

"Yeah… I always wondered why the hell she would listen to anything that monster told her to do. Or why she later started _helping _us, seeming to be ensuring Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were alive as the only people able to kill him. And now I know. He was controlling her by-"

"I'm gonna' guess the heart in his hand was explanation enough about that," Urahara cut in.

"Yeah. You know, the look on their faces when I took her heart right out from under him was _awesome_," Kagome laughed. "But it doesn't make what he did to my family any better," she added, staring at the unconscious Souta.

"What does Naraku want to use the jewel for?" Urahara asked.

"I don't know. Probably to become a completed demon so he can take over the world and rid himself of Onigumo's soul… Can I be left alone for a while?"

Silently, they began to leave, Kagome gently gripping Shippo's shoulder when he started to go too.

As everyone headed for the door, Ryuken made his presence known, calculating eyes focused intently on her.

"You said you almost died?" he asked calmly.

"No almost. I did. I didn't have a heart beat," Kagome sighed.

"I see…"

Something appeared in his expression, making Kagome's stomach tie itself in a knot of dread.

"I think it best that you quickly learn how to control what's coming," he finally stated.

"Coming? What's coming?" Kagome asked, eyes wide.

"Being brought back from the dead, somehow, will have most definitely woken them up inside of you. So you had better learn how to control the powers your Shinigami blood will give you."

The room went dead silent, shock and surprise registering on everyone's face…

A/N:

Inu no baka- stupid dog

And… another cliffhanger! And a shocking revelation! Two for two!

I just realized I never mentioned Shippo's age in this story, and the speech I wrote for him sounds oddly mature. In this story, Shippo is 13, but still looks like a small kit, because kitsune in mythology physically age a _lot _slower than humans, and he's picked up on Kagome's speech for the last years.

Hope you're enjoying, and will give your opinions. See you next time!


	34. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language

History (Part II)

Kagome stared at her uncle, mouth agape.

After a small eternity, and a few false starts, she cleared her throat enough to talk around the lump that had formed.

"Shinigami… Do you want to run that by me again?" she finally managed, eyes wide.

With a sigh, Ryuken moved to the other empty chair in the room, at the foot of her mother's bed. Giving an impatient glare, the others left, except for Uryuu and Ichigo.

"This matter doesn't concern you, boy," Ryuken said shortly, glaring at Ichigo.

"He can stay," Kagome responded, surprising the three of them. "Uncle Ryuken, what are you talking about?"

"How much do you know about my brother?" he responded, adjusting his glasses.

"My dad? Not much. Just that you and he had a falling out a long time ago, and you don't like my mother. He died when I was five."

"Your mother doesn't even factor in beyond being involved with my brother," Ryuken sighed. "Let's start by saying that as a Quincy, I detest the Shinigami, and what they did to the Quincies. Of course, I don't feel too strongly about Quincies, either, as there's no money in it," he added with a shrug.

"What did the Shinigami do?"

"A long time ago, Quincy were the first line of defense against Hollows while Shinigami mobilized," Uryuu stated. "But there was a Shinigami named Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who held back the Shinigami when there were entirely too many Hollows for the Quincy to handle. They died so he could do research on them."

"That's horrible!" Kagome gasped.

"Yes. But, this really isn't important. What is important is that before he met my mother, my father had fallen in love with a Shinigami," Ryuken sighed.

"What? Grandfather did?"

"Yes. Be quiet, idiot," her uncle sighed. "He fell in love with a Shinigami. And he fathered something truly abominable. The first Shinigami-Quincy hybrid in history. My older half-brother, and your father."

"You're telling me… my father wasn't human."

"Not totally, correct. Quincy are humans, technically."

"Okay…"

"My brother was incredibly skilled, but we never got along. Especially when we both decided to quit fighting, and he ran off to marry a shrine maiden. We never worked anything out, and I despised him greatly. But you may be better than he ever was."

"So… this new power I supposedly have will mean more fighting?" she asked dejectedly.

"Yes. Because of his blood, you're going to suffer. You're half miko, a quarter Quincy, and a quarter Shinigami. If I grasped the situation correctly, then you were killed. Being brought back like you were, it released a huge amount of spiritual energy. If you're like Kurosaki, the energy will wake up your Shinigami blood. Theoretically, if you're half as fast-developing in that as with your Quincy blood, you could be something to tip the scales between humanity and monsters."

"And because I have power, I have to fight. Right?"

"Not necessarily, but it's most likely," he sighed. "For what it's worth, I don't envy you. Your family can stay here as long as they need."

Kagome sat silent, staring intently at the floor.

"Tell me something… Would they be in the hospital, if I could've used this power half an hour ago?"

"I couldn't say. I wasn't there to witness what happened. Hell, I barely even picked up on it. But my guess is that it doesn't matter, because that happened to them before you got there, right?"

"Yeah. But in the end, it's still because of me being too weak to purify that bastard before," she sighed.

Slowly, her head came up, and she met her uncle's surprised gaze.

"Alright then. Let me ask you something else. If I master these powers, assuming that they come to me, could I destroy Naraku?"

He stared back at her, gauging her oddly calm expression.

"It's very hard to totally destroy a soul," he started. "I don't know if you could do it. But if you have that power, you'll be very hard to beat. And probably on the radar of everything in existence, from Shinigami to Aizen to these demons that seem to have come here somehow."

Her eyes fell back to the floor, her body giving off small tremors.

"I see… Thank you. For telling me. Forewarned is forearmed, or whatever," she said, her voice going through several emotions.

The shaking was more noticeable now, and Ryuken stood up, eying his niece with pity.

"Don't mention it. Really. Don't," he sighed, eyes narrowed.

Ichigo and Uryuu stared at the miko, watching as she began to shake more violently by the second.

Kagome was only vaguely aware of the fact that her face was becoming wet, staring unseeingly at the floor.

But then, a pair of small, warm arms wrapped around her neck, and she felt something give.

She pulled Shippo against her, feeling the tears starting to flow and desperately wanting to get her son out before he saw her breakdown.

Ryuken headed for the door, Kagome's body beginning to visibly vibrate as she held back her tears.

As her uncle left, he grabbed Uryuu, dragging him outside and reaching for Ichigo.

"Ichigo, could you stay for a second?" Kagome asked, her voice sounding amazingly collected.

"Sure," he said, ducking under Ryuken's grab.

"Shippo, can you go play with Uncle Uryuu for a while?" she added, gently petting her kit while fighting the growing pressure in her eyes.

With a worried look at Kagome, the kit hopped down from the chair, quickly heading for the door behind Ryuken.

Ichigo quickly closed the door, and he moved to stand at the trembling miko's side.

"So… it looks like I'm going to need a Shinigami to help teach me so I don't end up causing problems for everyone," she said, voice light.

"It looks that way… Well, Rukia's the one that woke up my powers in the first place, and Urahara's the one that helped me learn to control it," he stated, surprised when her watery eyes seemed to become disappointed on top of everything else.

"Oh… I was hoping you would teach me," she sighed.

"I can, if you want," he said, eyes wide.

"Thank you…"

"I don't think it needs saying, but we're all feeling pretty shitty right now," Ichigo offered. "I would've helped in a heartbeat if I'd thought you couldn't win. For what it's worth, I'm kicking myself right now. Uryuu and Urahara are probably the same."

Kagome gave a nod, that tiny worry in the back of her subconscious vanishing once she heard it. Of course, a new one took its place when she realized she had absolutely no reason to doubt her friends beyond what Naraku had said.

"I know. I'm flattered you think I'm that strong," she sighed. "Naraku's a master of backstabbing, though."

"Yeah, literally, as it turns out. Next time, we'll stop gawking at all the things you can pull off and help you, I promise," Ichigo sighed, voice harsh. "So… do you want to talk about all this?" he finally asked.

"Not really," she groaned, still staring at the floor.

The room went silent, neither one saying anything as Kagome fought the emotions rising in her.

But in a matter of less than a minute, the silence was broken, and tears began to fall in earnest. Ichigo moved quickly, pulling her to him as she began to sob.

"Damnit! I never asked for any of this! Why the hell do horrible things happen around me? Whose sadistic sense of humor keeps doing this to me!"

"Hell if I know," Ichigo sighed.

"I want to know who decided to keep throwing more and more responsibility on me. First the stupid jewel, then beating a force of pure evil, then being put on a the radar of all kinds of people, and now being some kind of living power conduit. I'm just a regular girl! I hate seeing people get hurt. So why the hell do I keep having to fight!"

"You're a helluva lot stronger than you give yourself credit for," Ichigo stated, holding her shaking form tight. "And strong people usually end up having to fight with that power they have."

"I'm not strong," she practically growled.

"Yeah? For someone who's not strong, you're sure as hell impressing me," he retorted. "This morning started out by you finding out your house was in an explosion, and that the guy you were going through training with Uryuu to beat came here. You came back from that well with a helluva burn on your hand, too."

"You noticed?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah. You fight a guy who's worse than any Hollow I've ever seen, with two other people backing him up, and barely even flinch until you got hit in the back. You came back from the dead. And on top of _all that_, you just learned you're pretty much living power. And you're taking that news better than I think I would."

"I'm having a mental breakdown!"

"Nah. You're scared. Hell, anybody would be. But you aren't running away. And you should think about that."

Kagome's eyes widened as she _did _think about it. Running away hadn't even crossed her mind. So maybe she _was _better off than she assumed.

Slowly, her tears started to ebb, and she pulled away from Ichigo.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she gasped, seeing the large wet spot she'd made on his shirt.

"Don't worry about it," he said, grinning. "Feel better?"

She nodded, blushing as her mind registered how close the two were.

"A little… maybe… I'm still not happy about this at all… But I think all the crap that's happened today just kept wearing on me, and I just kind of blew up there… Thanks for calming me down. I don't ever want Shippo to see me like that."

"Nah. Just focus all the crap you're feeling right now, and use it the next time you see those three."

"Oh, I'll _definitely _beat them the next time… But I'm kind of terrified that I really am going to become some kind of a monster."

"I thought you've seen real monsters before," he quipped. "I'm pretty sure they aren't as pretty."

Her face turned bright red, and she looked up from his chest to find him grinning.

"Umm… thanks," she finally managed.

Their eyes locked, and Kagome's mind went blank as they closed in on each other.

"Sorry for all this crap," she croaked. "I must seem like I'd be a pretty high-maintenance girlfriend."

"Hmm… Nah, you seem self-sufficient. You're just a magnet for trouble," he said, grinning.

Before she could give another 'witty' retort, he moved. And the last of her strength for the day, as well as her shock-induced fears, vanished as liquid heat took their place…

A/N:

And so, Kagome gets more piled onto her. I don't know how well I wrote this scene, at all, and feedback would be very greatly appreciated. Hope you're enjoying the story. See you next time!


	35. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language

Orihime

Kagome pulled back slightly, face bright red.

"I think I can get used to this," she panted, her pains and exhaustion temporarily forgotten, replaced by the tingling sensation coursing through her from her lips.

"I aim to please," Ichigo responded, grinning from ear to ear and almost as bright red as her.

Smiling, she leaned back in, letting her mind get clouded once more.

Suddenly, the sound of the hospital room's door opening infiltrated her mind, and she quickly pulled away, turning.

Standing in the doorway was Orihime.

Kagome instantly felt guilt wash over her in place of the warmth that had previously filled her. She met Orihime's eyes, seeing the horror in shock in her brown orbs.

"Umm… I thought I might be able to help them heal faster," she said, her voice thick as she indicated the unconscious people on the beds.

If it weren't for the fact that she'd seen that look and could feel her emotions, Kagome would've sworn the cheerful smile on the girl's face was sincere.

"Thank you. That… That'd be great," Kagome said, forcing her own smile.

"I should get out of your hair," Ichigo said, seeming to sense the tension in the room.

"Thanks for the help, Ichigo," Kagome said, smiling sincerely at him.

He gave a nod, gently squeezing her hand before vanishing from the room.

"Soten Kisshun, I reject!" Orihime called, pointing.

Instantly, her hairpins flashed with a golden light. And then, a golden half-oval took form over Kagome's mother.

Kagome watched in fascination as her mother's injuries began to vanish. It was as though whatever had happened to her was reversing itself, the dried blood vanishing as though it'd never been there.

"Do you want me to heal that woman, too?" Orihime asked, referring to Kagura while staying focused on the healing.

"I don't know if she even needs healing, but it couldn't hurt," Kagome sighed, taking her seat once again. "Thank you. For helping them."

"It's no problem!" Orihime responded, bucket-loads of false cheer in her voice.

Kagome bit back what she wanted to say.

She began an inner battle of epic proportions. After half a minute of watching the girl's false smile, it became too much.

The fact that she knew it was fake, combined with the unbelievably crappy night she was having and what she'd felt when Orihime had first healed her finally became too much.

"Orihime, I like you. You seem like a really nice person. But I'm going to slap you if you don't stop pretending."

"Pretending?" the girl responded, feigning ignorance.

It was what pushed Kagome over the top.

"Look," the miko snapped, "I've had a really, _really _horrific day. I felt your aura when you healed me last time. You knew exactly what I was talking about when I apologized."

"I don't-"

"I know you might hate me, even if you won't admit it," Kagome practically growled. "And I even know _why _you feel that way."

Orihime's false smile vanished, tears beginning to form.

"I'm sorry. I really am," Kagome sighed. "But it'd be unfair to you if I didn't get this out in the open. It'd be unfair to you for me to date Ichigo without clearing the air, because if I'm going to be around, I'd much rather honesty."

"Honesty about what?" Orihime asked, finishing healing Kagome's mother and moving the oval over to Souta next.

"I'd rather you openly hate me than pretend to like me," Kagome sighed, glaring at the floor.

"I can't hate anyone," Orihime stated. "It's not in me."

"Yeah. I used to think the exact same thing," Kagome sighed.

Orihime's eyes widened, and she locked gazes with the miko.

"What?"

"I know _exactly _what it's like to be where you're at. I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

A/N:

Kind of a short one this time 'round, but I had to split the scene into two sections because I'm not entirely sure how I want to handle it past this point. Hope you're enjoying, and will leave your thoughts. Especially, as always, on the Kagome/Ichigo interaction. See you next time!


	36. Chapter 35

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Orihime (Part II)

"What would _you _know about it?" Orihime asked, tears starting to flow.

"I-"

"I'd always thought that Ichigo liked Rukia. I loved him, but I've never said a word," the girl continued. "Saying I'm in pain sounds so dramatic, but it's the truth… I wish I could tell Ichigo how I feel. But I'm not strong enough."

"Don't give me that," Kagome sighed, surprising the girl again. "Your strength's not the problem. It's because you're afraid that you'll be rejected."

"What!"

"I know, Orihime. I know exactly what you're talking about. Because what you're describing, between you and Rukia and Ichigo, sounds almost exactly the same."

"The same as what?" the girl responded, tears changing sources to frustration.

"The same as me. It's almost exactly the same as my situation was with myself, Inuyasha, and Kikyo."

Kagome watched as shock registered on the girl's face, and she decided that she was well past the point of having energy to filter herself for the night.

"I know how badly it hurts, Orihime. But I realize that I was weak, not because of myself, but because I was afraid to tell Inuyasha. When I did, it was too late… I've only been around for a week now, but I feel that something can develop between Ichigo and me."

Orihime simply stared at her, shock evident.

"I also don't want you to pretend to like me. Between Inuyasha and Kikyo, I've had enough lying to last me a lifetime. If you hate me, don't bottle it up. If you don't like me, don't hold it back. You need to let this all out, or you'll end up snapping."

"I don't… I don't hate you," Orihime sighed. "I hate myself. Or I hate how pathetic I am, anyway."

"Pathetic? I find it hard to believe you're anything resembling that word, with the kind of power you have," Kagome scoffed.

"I've been friends with Ichigo for close to 3 years now. I've had feelings for him almost from the beginning. And yet _you_, who've been here for a week, he noticed no problem."

"To be fair, that's not necessarily a good thing. He noticed me in the first place because I was making a spectacle of myself," Kagome sighed.

"You were kissing when I came in!" Orihime practically growled.

Kagome felt heat rising quickly to her face, which was amazing since she was sure she didn't have the energy to be embarrassed just then.

"Yes, we were… We're going to be dating. Or, knowing me, trying, anyway, before something else happens."

"Why did he notice you so easily? Is it because you're so attractive? Or because I'm not trying hard enough?"

"I don't know," Kagome sighed. "If you want to know, then ask him."

"I… can't," the girl responded, fists clenching. "I-"

"Don't hate yourself. It's a waste of energy, and it'll only lead to self-fulfilling prophecy," the miko cut in, seemingly at random.

"Huh?"

"I'm a med student," Kagome said, shrugging at Orihime's confused expression. "It means that if you think bad things will happen, or you think you're not worth it, you'll start acting in a way that'll make it true."

"Umm…"

"Instead of not liking yourself, or Ichigo, or even me, for that matter, you should use what you're feeling. Get stronger from it."

"How?"

"For starters, stop pretending to be happy when you're not," Kagome offered. "Besides, it's not like you're bad off. It's not like you don't have your own person who feels similarly about you," she sighed.

Orihime's eyes widened, and Kagome gasped, realizing what she said.

"Umm… Sorry. It's been a long day," the miko sighed, her face bright red.

She was mentally kicking herself for having let that slip.

"Sorry. I'm sorry I made you cry, too. But I just wanted to get these things out as they are," Kagome sighed.

Orihime became silent, focusing on removing Souta's injuries…

A/N:

I realize Kagome's speech was very clinical and analytical, but at this point, she doesn't have much energy left in her to think things through with her emotions. She's had one helluva day. Hope you're enjoying the story, and be sure to tell me what you think of how I handled the conversation. See you next time!


	37. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Kagura

Orihime stared intently at the golden oval before her, eyes narrowed.

The blood on Souta's head was all but gone, and his unconsciousness shifted to fitful sleep.

The oval moved away from Kagome's family, settling over Kagura.

Instantly, Orihime tensed, and the beautiful, golden form was filled with an explosion of darkness.

From Kagura's wounds, tendrils of long, inky black energy rose, seeming to turn the air within the oval gray. The golden color held, but it seemed dimmed slightly.

"What is that!" Orihime gasped.

"My god. There's so much of it," Kagome gasped.

For a small eternity, Orihime visibly worked on removing the poison.

It was clearly more than she was used to healing, as by the time she reached the minute mark of healing the sorceress, Orihime was practically on her knees. Her breaths came in short, panting gasps, and sweat began to bead on her forehead.

"I've never seen something like this," Orihime gasped, eyes wide.

Fortunately, by that time, the miasma had decreased dramatically, but it was clear that healing the other two first had worn the girl out.

"Nothing's ever been this hard to reject. What kind of poison is this?"

"It's miasma," Kagome said, beginning to sit up. "It's demonic poison. I don't think you'll have ever experienced it before."

"It's somehow stopping me from healing the actual wounds," she said, beginning to tremble.

"I don't know how that's possible, but Naraku's poison _is_ unbelievably strong… Give me a sec," Kagome sighed tiredly.

Kagome pulled on the last dregs of her miniscule energy, sending a burst of silver into Orihime's barrier. Instantly, it flashed with a bright color, and the miasma vanished.

Instantly, Orihime sagged in relief, and Kagura's wounds vanished in short order. And then, so did her barrier, and Orihime dropped to the floor, panting.

Kagome felt herself beginning to fade into unconsciousness, but she fought against it. She no longer had any energy, but she knew that if she was asleep when Kagura woke up, it probably wouldn't be pretty.

After several minutes, Orihime shakily rose, her skin pale and clearly showing the effort she'd used. The new pallor also showed off the trails where the girl's tears had gone, making Kagome feel guilty anew.

"They'll be fine, now… They just need to sleep for a while," Orihime sighed.

She slowly headed for the door, her gait slow and exhausted-looking.

"Thank you… I wouldn't have been able to do much, right now," Kagome sighed.

"It's okay," the girl responded.

As she grabbed the door handle, she seemed to hesitate, and their previous conversation seemed to return to both their minds. A small tear formed in the girl's eyes, and her grip tightened on the handle.

"Thank you… It's better to know," she sighed, and then she was gone.

Kagome slumped low in her seat, sighing heavily. Her exhaustion was beginning to hit her full force, and she was absolutely amazed she wasn't unconscious yet.

Her musings ended, however, when a soft grunt came from the opposite end of the room. Kagome's eyes flew to the source and found Kagura sitting up, dark hair flowing around her like a curtain of darkness.

Dark, blood-red eyes instantly focused on Kagome, a wary glare forming.

The witch began to stand from the bed, a low growl in her throat. Instantly, Kagome was up, hands raised in placation.

"Hang on, Kagura. You're okay. Naraku's not here to hurt you."

"That bastard's not the one I'm concerned with," the demoness growled, dropping into a crouch.

A thick, dark wall of youki began to rise around Kagura, and Kagome felt the room begin to grow cold. Thoughts of her recently healed and still sleeping family came to mind, and Kagome began shaking her head.

"Hang on, Kagura. I'm not an enemy," the miko sighed. "I'm sorry I hurt you, but it was necessary."

"Hurt me?" Kagura asked incredulously. "Like hell! Have you ever felt _dying_? I have, more times than I care to remember, now."

"Yes, I _do _know what dying is, because Naraku killed me after I helped you. It's only because of the jewel that I'm still breathing."

Instantly, Kagura's building attack vanished, her glare replaced with a shocked gaze.

"What?"

"I'm sorry I hurt you. Really, I am. I'd imagine having your heart shoved into you wasn't pleasant at all, but it should give you your freedom."

"My… heart?"

Slowly, Kagura put a hand against her chest, apparently just now noticing its rapid tempo.

"But… how-"

"Don't worry about how I did it. To be honest, I'm not really sure myself," Kagome sighed. "Just hear me out, okay?"

"Where are we?" Kagura asked, noticing the room they were in.

"It's called a hospital. In my time, it's like a really big place where doctors come to help patients. Like village doctors in the past, but bigger to keep up with the larger population."

"Why am I here? Why didn't that bastard finish me?"

"Because if he'd tried, I would've killed him. His new pets held him back."

"_Those two_," Kagura spat, eyes narrowed and body practically shining with disgust. "That damned dog is too pathetic for words."

"So it would seem," Kagome sighed. "Now listen, Kagura. If I'm going to beat Naraku and end his existence, I'm going to need help. As much help as I can possibly get… If you're willing… I'd like… that… to… include… you," she said, her actions of the day finally catching up with her…

"Miko?" Kagura asked, surprised at the sudden dreariness to her speech.

Kagome's eyes slowly slid closed, and she fell unceremoniously to the ground. Startled, Kagura moved closer and found that the miko was out cold.

With a sigh, she lifted the girl and laid her on a bed next to the small boy.

She then moved back to her own bed, deciding she was still tired as well, and now that the adrenalin was vanishing, so was her wakefulness.

She decided she would stick around and see where the naïve miko's mind was at…

A/N:

Well, here's the newest chapter! Hope you enjoyed. As always, be sure to give your thoughts, and thanks to those who always do. It makes writing these worth it to hear what I'm doing both right and wrong with the writing. See you next time!


	38. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language

Allies

Kagome came awake slowly, her body telling her she needed more sleep but her mind not listening.

As her eyes came open, she was met with the sight of Uryuu sitting next to her, glaring.

Of course, the fact that he was higher than her brought to her attention that she was sleeping in a hospital bed, and she immediately sat up, to the avid protest of her muscles.

"Well, good morning," the miko groaned.

"It's almost the afternoon," her cousin responded tersely.

"Okay… So that means I've been asleep… what? Six hours?"

"Try close to thirty. It's Sunday. And you've got explaining to do."

"Explaining? About what?" Kagome groaned. "Wait. I've been asleep more than a day! I feel like I still need sleep!" she exclaimed.

"That'd be because you used every last ounce of spiritual energy you had to spare pushing yourself, _after _you came back from the dead. Now what the hell'd you do to make Orihime cry?"

Kagome's eyes widened, and she fell back onto the bed.

"I didn't mean to make her cry. Really."

"What'd you say?"

"She… She walked into the room, and she uh… she saw Ichigo and I," she sighed, feeling her face quickly heating up.

"Saw you and Kurosaki what?" he asked, his tone telling her that he already at least suspected the answer.

"She… saw us kissing."

"Damnit," Uryuu sighed. "No wonder."

"And then, I explained a few things to her," Kagome pushed on.

"Damnit," he repeated. "Why _Kurosaki_, of all people?"

"Because I like him," she replied. "A lot."

"I don't need to hear any more," he groaned. "Just don't be stupid."

"You make it sound like Ichigo's some kind of thug," Kagome laughed. "Compared to that dog, he's practically a saint. Besides, you probably get into fights, too."

"That's hardly the point here," he sputtered, face red.

She simply laughed, beginning to go back to sleep. But she was brought wide awake by the next words out of her cousin.

"You know, the police were called to your house."

"What!"

"There were reports of explosions and smoke," he continued.

"Oh, crap!"

"I went to check it out. They left because, thanks to Orihime, there wasn't any evidence of an explosion besides a broken shack… But they're looking for your family, seeing as they weren't there."

"Okay… they were here, visiting family. Simple enough, right?" Kagome sighed.

"I guess it could work."

"Speaking of which, where _are _they?" Kagome asked, noticing that the room was empty save for them and a pocket of almost unnoticeable, shimmering air on the bed furthest from the door.

"Your mom's in my father's office. Don't know what the hell for," he said in answer to her unasked question. "Souta's out playing with Shippo. Those kids have way too much energy."

"Yeah. I'm just happy that Souta _can _play…"

"Well, he's fine, and so's your mom. Next time, we'll be faster," he sighed, standing up.

He headed for the door, stopping at the door and giving her a pointed glare.

"And Kagome?"

"Yeah?" she asked, sitting up.

"If you go and learn to be a Shinigami too, you'd damn well still practice what I taught you."

She simply nodded, noticing his smirk as he vanished from the room.

As soon as he was gone, Kagome's attention zeroed in on the shimmering area.

"I take it you don't like my cousin?" she quipped conversationally.

In a burst of youki, Kagura appeared, a small smirk on her lips.

"Tch. Not particularly. Still, your company's a step above that bastard's."

"Well, at least there's that," the miko laughed. "So, is being invisible a new trick?"

"Please. It's rather like making the air around me vanish, and then the sun can't reach me and I'm not seen. Rather simple, actually."

"Huh… That'd be convenient."

"Now then," Kagura sighed, standing up from her bed, "you were interrupted during our last conversation by collapsing. Care to elaborate on what you were saying, miko?"

"My name's Kagome," she sighed. "What is it with demons? It's three syllables."

"Is there a point somewhere in this?" the sorceress asked impatiently.

"Fine," Kagome huffed. "When I found out how Naraku was controlling him, a lot of other things started making sense."

"Oh?"

"Such as how you always seemed to 'accidentally' help Sesshomaru or our group. It's because they're… they _were, _at the time, the only people who could possibly kill Naraku. And you want him to die. Badly, I'm guessing."

"Clever, aren't you?"

"Now it's different, though. Sesshomaru's stuck in the past, and Inuyasha's working for Naraku."

"That's where I find myself," Kagura nodded. "Damned useless dogs."

"They're not the only ones that can end Naraku," Kagome said, the sentence seeming to freeze the witch.

"What?" she finally asked, eying Kagome critically.

"I can kill him, if I get the chance. I've been specifically training to destroy him and the jewel. Would you help me to destroy him?"

"Tch. Can you really do it, miko?"

"I slipped past him, Kikyo, and Bakayasha to get your heart, and fought off both of them when they retaliated."

"That's not what I asked," Kagura huffed.

She took a deep breath, thinking over the question. Finally, she came to a definite conclusion.

"Yes. If I see Naraku, I can kill him the next time."

"Alright then. I'll be glad to help end that bastard."

She brought a hand up to her ear, and began tinkering with something. After several seconds, there was a low _popping _sound, and Kagura's earring on that side had one less green bead.

Youki flowed through the room, centered on her hand, and she slowly extended her hand out, palm open. Kagome grabbed the small, green bead and instantly felt its warmth rush through her skin.

"When the time comes, use your energy on the bead. It'll resonate with my youki, and I'll be there."

Without another word, she turned and in a burst of strong wind, she was gone from the room…

A/N:

And so, Kagome has more allies against Naraku! Hope you enjoyed the banter. As always, be sure to tell me your thoughts. See you next time!


	39. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Offer

Kagome looked down at the bead, its power seeming to radiate from her palm.

Staring at the bead, she found herself wondering what she was going to do with it. It was definitely going to be something she needed to carry with her at all times, and she somehow doubted it'd fit on Urahara's bracelet.

After several moments, she came up with an idea. As soon as the idea formed, the bead seemed to act of its own accord.

In a flash, the bead vanished, and a sudden, stinging sensation came from her right ear. It was gone as quickly as it formed, and Kagome's hand came up, feeling the strange, warm protrusion now pressed into her ear lobe.

Oddly enough, the bead felt like smooth, warm metal, as opposed to the rough whatever it'd been made of before.

"Huh… Well, I guess that works, too," she sighed.

She then headed out of the room, quickly getting used to the new weight on her ear.

In the lobby, she stopped in her tracks when she found her mother. She was sitting on one of the uncomfortable, plastic chairs, looking serious.

As though sensing her presence, her mother looked up, and it became instantly clear she was debating something.

In three quick strides, she was up and across the lobby.

Whatever she was going to say was temporarily put on hold when her eyes widened.

"Kagome, what's that on your ear!"

"Umm… An earring. I think… It's a long story."

"Hmm… Anyway, you need to go talk to Ryuken…"

"What? Why?" Kagome asked, suddenly concerned.

"He'll explain. I need to go for a walk… Talk to me after you're done talking to him."

In a confused daze, Kagome went into the elevator. Her worry increased with every floor she passed, until she was a nervous wreck at her uncle's office door.

"He's expecting you," the receptionist said, waving her inside.

Ryuken watched her as she took a seat, clearly sensing her tension.

"I've talked in length with your mother. About you."

"Oh? What for?" Kagome asked, beginning to sweat.

"Relax," he sighed. "From what I understand, you're very smart in school, and you graduated in the top 10th of your class while missing a large amount of time. And, also from what I understand, you have an interest in medical school. Is that correct?"

"When I was in the Sengoku Jidai, I learned medicine as part of my training under an older miko. It stuck a lot better than the energy control did. I got interested in medicine, and planned on going to college, to be a doctor, after destroying the Shikon."

"They had decent medicine in the past?" Ryuken asked, mildly surprised.

"No. Mostly herbs, but they worked well… I planned on using what I learned to help people on both sides of the well… That part about the past was destroyed with the well, though… Though, even before that, it became a moot point when everybody besides my son died and that mutt made it clear he chose a possessed clay body over her."

Kagome's face flushed bright red, and she let out a gasp.

"I'm sorry. Uhh… Still a little tired. There's no filter between my brain and mouth when I get tired."

"I see," he sighed, clearly just as uncomfortable as her now.

"Anyways," he continued, "I've talked to your mother… While not the best med school in Japan, I've been told my hospital gives a good medical education… As long as you can prove that you're serious about medicine, and competent, I'll be more than happy to work out a deal with her."

"A… deal?" Kagome asked, heart speeding up.

"For you to come here at a reduced rate. I don't presume to know your fiscal situation, but I'm guessing that medical school might end up being costly. Hell, I ended up paying off my student loans up until only a few years before I came to own this place."

Kagome stared at him, eyes wide.

"Are… Are you serious?"

"I don't kid," he deadpanned.

"Didn't think so… I would love to!" she exclaimed, suddenly smiling. "But why would you do that? You don't like our family."

"Ah… If you can keep going as long as you did after almost _dying_, you'd be one hell of a doctor when on-call. Especially with those miko healing abilities I hear you have. On top of that, you seem… oddly levelheaded."

"You think I'm… levelheaded?" Kagome asked, finding the idea hilarious, given recent events.

"You took the information about your father without a flinch. If you get the proper training, you have the potential to be an amazing doctor. Not as good as me, of course, but amazing none the less," he added, smirking.

"I would love to!" she exclaimed. "Thank you!"

"Don't thank me. I'm just opening a door. You're the one that's going to be worked to death," he mused.

Kagome rose, heart beating a rapid tempo in her chest and a bright smile pasted to her face.

With another series of profuse thanks, she left the office and headed down.

She came out of the elevator to find her mother entering the lobby. They both took a seat, and her mother gave a nod.

"I take it you're going to take the offer."

"It would be amazing, mom! I would very much like to take him up on the offer," she agreed.

"It is amazing… But I'm not sure how I feel about it," her mother sighed. "Until just now, I'd assumed that he completely hated our whole family. He couldn't stop praising you, though."

"It's… complicated," Kagome sighed. "He doesn't have anything against us, personally."

"I see… We'll see what happens," she sighed.

"Okay. Thank you," Kagome sighed. "And I'm sorry I screwed up and got you guys hurt."

"I don't blame you, and Souta certainly doesn't, either… We'd best be going, if we're going to get back home at a decent hour tonight. I take it you're staying here?" she asked, standing up.

"Yeah. I need to do more training," Kagome sighed.

One tearful hug later, and Kagome's mother was gone, Souta audibly protesting leaving as they went.

Several minutes later, Kagome decided to head to Uryuu's.

As soon as she was outside the hospital, a familiar energy formed, and suddenly Ichigo was standing beside her.

"Sneaky," she mused, smiling.

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to be somewhere else if those guys showed up," he shrugged. "You're in a good mood."

She gave a nod, both of them heading off.

"Uh-huh! Uncle Ryuken just offered to let me come to his hospital without bankrupting myself!"

"Really? Damn, that's lucky."

"Yeah… Soooo… it looks like I'll be hanging around for a while longer," she started, her face becoming a light shade of pink.

"Yeah?" he asked, grinning.

"Yup. So, if you're serious about wanting to go out-"

He grinned, gently grabbing her hand.

"Oh, I am. I like a challenge."

Her smile grew even larger, and she pressed into him, wrapping her arms around his.

"I do, too. I think I'll enjoy this," she sighed.

"Glad to hear it."

"Actually, I feel amazing right now… Don't know why. So, I was wondering if we can start my training."

"Already? Damn, you don't take breaks, do you?" he laughed. "How about waiting a while after getting outta' the hospital?"

"I'd like my good mood to last. And the only way that'll happen will be if I win the next time one of them shows up."

"Hmm… Yeah, I can see that. Tell you what. We can start tomorrow, at Urahara's, if you want."

"Sounds good," she nodded, smiling the entire rest of her escorted walk to Uryuu's…

A/N:

Hope you enjoyed. My updates will probably slow down in the near future, as I need to work on some plot elements coming up. All for your enjoyment, of course (^_^). As always, be sure to tell me what you thought. See you next time!


	40. Chapter 39

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Training

Kagome stepped into Urahara's shop, having gotten there bright and early.

"Well, mornin', Kagome," said shop owner mused, sitting to the side of his door.

"Hello. Is Ichigo on his way?"

"Nah. He's even earlier," he sighed, standing up. "When he said he wanted to use my basement, I didn't think he meant before the sun's up."

"It's not _that _early," Kagome groaned, following him inside.

They came to a stop at a trapdoor, and a strange feeling filled her senses. The fact that when he opened the trapdoor, sunlight filtered up into the dark shop definitely added to the strangeness.

"You're about to have your mind blown," he laughed, jumping through the trapdoor.

When she moved forward to see how steep of a fall it was, Kagome's heart nearly stopped. With a gulp, she jumped, traveling down after him.

Just as she was about to hit the ground, she pushed energy under her and shoved forward, hitting the ground in a roll. When she came up, her eyes widened, and she turned in a circle.

"What the hell! Where are we?"

"My basement. You like?" he laughed.

"Uh… it's sunny. We're underground. I think. But it's so-"

"I made it this way. Don't question it. The physics might make your head explode."

Kagome turned around and found Ichigo leaning back against a rock, looking slightly smug. And next to him, sitting with a frown on the dirt, was Rukia.

"Umm… morning?"

"He wanted my gloves, and I don't need to get crap if he loses them," Rukia sighed, glaring at Ichigo.

"Yeah, sure. She's just curious about what you can do," he stated, smirking when Rukia gave a low growl.

"Umm… okay… gloves?" Kagome asked, her still-tired brain not keeping to full speed.

In response, Ichigo pulled out a small, bright red glove from his pocket, a bright, happy-looking skull staring at her.

"It's a cool thing. Helped me back when I was starting out," he explained, slipping it onto his right hand.

"Okay… A glove helped you… how?" she asked, trying to wake up.

"It separates the soul and body," Rukia explained.

"Umm… Isn't that a bad thing?"

"You want to become a Shinigami, right?" Urahara quipped.

"Well, I need to, so I'm ready next time, anyway."

"Right. Normally, a person with strong latent spiritual energy dies and their soul accesses their power to become Shinigami in the afterlife. Another way is for a Shinigami to imbue their power to you."

"I wouldn't recommend it," Ichigo observed, scratching a phantom itch on his chest.

"But neither of these can apply to you. From what I understand, you're like Kurosaki, in that you're half-Shinigami. And your powers are waking up after that short dirt nap you took. So that's where the glove comes in," Urahara concluded.

"And it'll help gauge what the hell you have in you," Rukia added, glaring. "I don't like not knowing what someone's capable of."

"How's that?"

"The glove will pull you out of your body. Without your body, your physical energy is gone, so it's pure spirit energy. Basically, we're filtering your strength and seeing what you look like with nothing but your energy keeping you up," the shop owner explained, grinning.

"So… the glove's like a sieve?"

"You can look at it that way, I suppose," he laughed. "Well, let's get this show on the road, yeah? Ichigo?"

He stepped forward, extending his hand.

"Ready?"

"I'm kind of curious to see what I can do," she stated, grabbing his hand.

Instantly, warmth leeched from her senses, and when she blinked, she was suddenly seeing things in shades of unbelievably vivid color. And on the ground was her body, which was disorienting.

Looking down, she found something she hadn't been expecting. She'd been expecting to be in a black kimono like she'd seen Rukia and Ichigo in. Instead, she was still dressed the same… except she was now see-through.

And then, she realized that the others were staring at her. Which made a lot more sense when she felt a weight on her back.

Reaching back, her hand brushed against a large, flat surface on her spine.

"Well, damn. Grand Fisher's was bigger, but when you think about how much bigger _he _was, that's impressive," Ichigo mused, staring at whatever was behind her.

"I'd say so. It's bigger than yours was, Ichigo," Rukia mocked.

"Umm… What's behind me?" Kagome asked, starting to blush.

"Your Zanpakuto. It's massive," Urahara stated. "I gotta' say, you're even more impressive than I predicted."

"What? Why?"

"For the untrained, the size of the Zanpakuto directly relates to the size of the spiritual energy in the user, before they learn how to shrink it. It's twice your size. Usually only Captains can do that."

Kagome reached up, her hand finally wrapping around a hilt. As she began pulling, the sheer size of it finally revealed itself as her balance vanished.

With a gasp, she flopped forward, stopping her fall with a burst of energy that just barely slowed her enough to prevent smashing her face.

"Ugh… Okay, before we do anything else, I need to learn how to make this thing smaller," she groaned, slowly standing back up, the sword no longer on her.

"That'll happen naturally, before we're done today," Urahara scoffed.

"Seriously! The thing's _huge_!" she exclaimed, staring at the mass of steel.

"Yeah. But is it heavy?"

"Well, no… Actually, it doesn't have any weight, that I noticed," she said, eyes wide from the realization. "Something made of steel that big should weight a ton."

"It would. To anyone but you," Rukia said, starting to stand up.

"I agree with them. Worry about the size later. Hell, I went around for months swinging a sword almost that big. Have you ever used a sword?" Ichigo asked.

"Umm… Kind of. Never well."

"Then we'll work on actually using the sword, first," he stated, grinning…

A/N:

Updates will be few and far between for the near future, thanks to real life. That said, hope you enjoyed, and will continue enjoying. See you next time!


	41. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Swordplay

Kagome reluctantly bent down, grabbing the hilt. She didn't trust that it was weightless. Something that huge being so light went against every law of physics she'd ever learned.

But, sure enough, when she lifted, the monstrosity came up with almost no resistance.

"We should start by seeing what the heck it looks like outside the sheath," Urahara mused.

With a nod, she gripped the handle, sliding the sheath free.

And her heart stopped at the sight that met her.

In her hands was a massive, heavily curved blade of pure, moonlight silver, glowing beautifully under the pseudo-sunlight. It was a sword she'd seen used in fights many times, except purer somehow. In a word; she was holding the Tetsusaiga.

Kagome did a few practice swings to gauge herself.

Thanks to her training with bows, she had more than just a little upper body strength, and the sword gave no resistance due to its none-weight.

But, because of its massive size, and the fact that the only sword she'd ever used had been Sango's considerably smaller one, it became readily apparent she wasn't made for swordplay.

The sword's shape didn't help her concentration, either.

"Well, this should be fun," Urahara mused, lifting his cane.

Suddenly, Ichigo stepped forward, glaring at the older man.

"Hell no."

"Ah, what's the matter, Kurosaki? I'm just going to see what she can do."

"Like hell. You nearly killed me seeing what _I _could do," he growled, glaring at him.

With a sigh, Rukia stood up from where she was sitting, a flash of light getting Kagome's attention.

And suddenly, there were two Rukia's, one in a black robe holding a sword.

"Both of you idiots shouldn't be the first to test her out."

"You guys know I can hear you, right? I'm not a car," Kagome stated, glaring.

"Yeah, I know," Rukia scoffed, walking past the bewildered men. "We need to see what you can do. Kisuke'll do too much, and Ichigo will hold too much back. Get ready," she called, taking on a different personality as she gripped her Zanpakuto.

Kagome brought her own sword up, taking a stance she'd watched Inuyasha take hundreds of time.

Without a word, Rukia lunged, sword coming straight for Kagome's skull.

Acting completely on instinct, Kagome ducked down, sword coming overhead. As a loud, echoing metallic _clang _sounded, Rukia's weight fell down on her sword, pressing Kagome nearly to her knees.

With a low growl, Kagome pushed up, throwing the Shinigami back.

Before Rukia could come back up, Kagome pressed on, swinging the large length of steel for her side.

The Shinigami jumped, flipping over her swipe and bringing her sword down as she went.

When the Zanpakuto hit, Kagome's attack went wide, the size of the sword throwing her completely off balance.

As she spun, she saw Rukia approaching again, and dropped to the ground, finishing her spin beneath the attack.

Rukia's blade came to a stop an inch from Kagome's forehead, her own sword the same distance from the Shinigami's exposed side.

"Never used a sword, huh?" Rukia mused, slowly extracting herself from the position.

"I… Where the hell did that come from?" Kagome asked, staring with wide eyes at her sword.

"That's a very good question," Urahara quipped. "I'm kind of impressed with how bad you actually are."

Kagome glared at him, frowning.

"She's not really that bad," Rukia argued, sheathing her sword.

He didn't respond, instead flicking his wrist towards the miko. Her sword came up and a loud _clang _sounded as the energy hit the blade and shattered.

"See? She doesn't act out of skill or reflex, just instinct. While that's impressive, it'll get you killed fast," he stated. "You reacted so well because she came at you with one attack at a time. If you're going to be fighting Espada, don't expect the same from them. So you're going to need to learn how to fight better, before we do anything else."

"Then let's get started," Ichigo said, releasing Zangetsu and stepping in front of Kagome, who quickly prepared herself…

For the next four days, Kagome trained with the three.

Training with Ichigo was amazing, the miko quickly learning from watching him.

Whenever Ichigo was working, she trained with Urahara and Rukia.

While Urahara seemed to be playing the entire time, almost mocking her, Rukia seemed much more aggressive, trying to get around her every attempt at defense.

By Friday, Kagome was fully capable of using her sword with competence, but the blade was still a hindrance.

Sighing, Kagome dropped onto the rough ground of Urahara's basement, her Zanpakuto planting itself in the ground at her feet.

"You're not done yet, are you?" Urahara laughed.

"Shut up," she groaned.

"C'mon. We've been working on this for a week now, and you're still getting tired way too fast. At this rate, you won't be able to do much."

"Yeah, well you try swinging around a skyscraper and see how it goes," she grumbled, sitting up. "Is there any way to make the damn thing smaller?"

"There is," Urahara stated. "The fact that it hasn't happened yet tells me you're not pushing yourself as hard as you can. Come on. I'm kicking your ass with a cane," he added, mocking her.

"Yeah? Alright, let's see if you're right," the miko growled, grabbing her sword up.

She launched, bringing the sword at his waist. Without missing a beat, he brought his cane up, sending the strike wide.

Kagome quickly turned into the loss of balance, spinning and coming around for a second strike.

"Well now, you've definitely learned, I'll give you that," the shopkeeper mused, blocking her strike with his stick. "But you seem to be having trouble actually _hitting _me."

"Gotta' say, she learns fast," Ichigo quipped.

"That's true," Urahara agreed, pushing and sending Kagome flying backwards. "I think that she might do a lot better with a smaller sword, after all."

"Then tell me how to do it, already, so I can actually move around," Kagome groaned.

"Alright," he said, putting his cane back down to the ground. "Listen closely, because if you still can't do anything after I explain this, I'll feel I've drastically overestimated you."

"Yeah, yeah, less mocking and more explaining," Kagome growled, making Ichigo and Rukia smirk.

"There are three different forms of a Zanpakuto. The first is the sealed form, which is where you're currently stuck at. The problem is that before you figure out how to really use it, it's a direct relation to the size of your spiritual power, and well, we've covered how drastic yours is. When you reach the second form, Shikai, the sword'll shrink and become like every other sealed Zanpakuto, and look like a katana. Unless you're like Ichigo, but somehow I think you have more control."

"Oi-"

"So how do I learn how to use Shikai?" Kagome asked, grabbing up her sword.

"You might want to wait on that," Ichigo said. "You've been going at it for nearly a whole week. You've got to be tired."

"I'm fine. I can sleep when I'm able to walk around without my back being thrown out from carrying this thing around," she quipped, lifting the blade.

"It's up to you, but you should be aware of the fact that you can die if things get to be too much," Urahara warned.

"Oi, you can't be serious!" Ichigo gaped.

Ignoring Ichigo, Urahara stepped forward, the quality of the air changing. A strange light took over his eyes, and Kagome took an involuntary step back at the power she felt.

"Alright, you want to learn Shikai. Then get ready," he said, his voice now serious and sending a chill through Kagome's spine…

A/N:

So, there's the newest chapter. Very sorry about the long dry spells, but real life's getting hectic while I'm getting ready for exams, and I've been working on some art, and some other things. So, yeah, I hope you enjoyed, and hopefully I'll be updating a lot more frequently as soon as things calm down. See you next time!


	42. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Shikai

"Oi, you're not serious, are you?" Ichigo asked, eyes wide.

Urahara focused on Kagome, eyes unsettlingly serious as he ignored her boyfriend.

"You'd best prepare, Kagome," he said before sliding his hand down the cane, a sword quickly taking its place. "I'm not Ichigo. I won't be taking it easy on you from this point on."

"I don't want easy. Naraku or those Espada won't take it easy on me, so you shouldn't, either," she stated.

"Well alright then. Get on your guard," he said, lifting his cane.

Kagome did as told, not because she was listening to him, but because an immense rush of power began to surge towards her from him.

"Awaken, Benihime."

Power exploded through the basement, an intense shockwave nearly bowling Kagome over. A sheen of bright red energy wrapped around the shopkeeper as his sword-cane transformed, the blade elongating and sharpening while the handle curved, becoming bright red.

When the transformation was over, a pulse filled the air and Kagome gripped her sword tighter.

"_This_ is Shikai," Urahara explained. "Here I come!"

He charged, body blurring from his incredible speed.

She quickly pulled on her Quincy abilities, diving back from each of his strikes and barely managing to avoid them.

For a small eternity, they kept moving, Kagome quickly becoming exhausted. With every attack he made, she began to receive small wounds, her energy depleting.

"If you keep dodging, you're not going to be able to do much damage," Urahara quipped, not even sweating.

Kagome cursed, blocking his next strike. The block surprised the shopkeeper, and she immediately used the moment to strike.

Unfortunately, he recovered quickly and spun, smashing her attack wide and nearly knocking her sword from her hand.

Before she could recover, the tip of his Zanpakuto stopped under her chin, his eyes narrowed.

"Get serious or get killed. The choice is yours, miko."

She jumped back, bringing her blade up.

"Come at me like you want to kill me, or you won't even scratch me. And you definitely won't get that sword to get smaller."

Gritting her teeth, Kagome launched, a powerful burst of energy forming under her feet. She came straight at him, swiping her blade for his side.

A surprised Urahara brought Benihime up, blocking her strike. But a shockwave went through his side, his entire body pushing to the side several inches from the impact.

"That's better. That would've cleaved me in two. You're getting serious."

"I can heal just about anything. You want me to go for the kill? You've got it," she growled, spinning and heading for his other side.

"Arrogant," he chided, bringing his sword up into hers.

The tip of his blade struck her Zanpakuto, and a powerful wave launched through the metal.

A loud, echoing _crack _filled the air, and Kagome's blade fell to pieces at his feet.

Eyes wide, she jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding a swipe that would've gone through her throat.

"And now you're defenseless. You think you stand a chance against _Espada_? But at least now, your sword's smaller, just like you wanted," he stated, beginning to advance on her.

Undeterred, Kagome clenched her fists around her hilt, letting her energy be drawn into the remaining steel.

She poured a massive amount of her power into it, and with a loud _snap _of displaced energy, a brilliant silver blade of energy took form over the shattered steel.

"Well now, that's unexpected. Good to know you can improvise," he mused.

"Thank Uryuu. Being a Quincy looks like it might help me train," Kagome stated. "And you won't break _this _blade."

"We'll see."

With that, Urahara charged, swinging heavily at her. His blade repeatedly met her sword, pushing her back but not getting a reaction from the blade.

She pushed back, trying to break _his _blade and succeeding in pushing him back a few steps with every strike.

Soon, though, her concentration began to leave her as he fought back equally hard, managing to cut her several times as they went.

Finally, the energy in her sword began to falter, but Kagome pressed on, using the unstable blade. With an irritated noise, Urahara swung Benihime. With a _snap_, Kagome was thrown backwards, her blade destroyed.

As she came up, she found Urahara beginning to glow with energy.

"It's over. _Scream, Benihime_!"

With a swing, a _massive _wave of crackling red energy launched forward. The radius was huge, stretching far enough in every direction that Kagome knew she wasn't going to escape it.

With a curse, she tried to bring energy out around her, but no barrier formed. As it sped closer, she realized that suddenly, it was very possible that she was going to die now, before getting the chance to even see Naraku again, much less end him.

And then, something changed around her.

The attack seemed to slow to a stop, the world graying.

"_Do you want to live_?"

Kagome looked around, eyes wide as she searched for the source of the strange, deep voice.

"Well, it'd be nice not to get fried," she commented, bodiless voices not even close to the strangest thing she'd experienced.

The voice laughed, seeming to come from everywhere at once.

"_You can borrow my power, then, if you want to live."_

At the same time, an amazing power took form, a brilliantly glowing sphere in front of her face.

Noticing that the world was starting to come back to its normal speed, Kagome grabbed the power.

As soon as she made contact, words filled her mind. And then, Urahara's attack was blasting full-speed for her, and she let out a scream.

"Burn bright, Ginkaji!"

A flash of light went off around her broken Zanpakuto, and Kagome braced for impact.

But when the light cleared, Urahara and the others were the ones with wide eyes, Rukia releasing her hold on Ichigo.

Standing completely unscathed, Kagome hadn't moved an inch. Urahara's attack was completely gone, and all around the miko were brilliant silver flames.

In her right hand was a small, curved silver dagger, and her left hand was extended, open-palmed and flickering with power.

The flames died down, and Urahara gave a whistle, sheathing his now-sealed sword back into a cane.

"Well now, that's a nice little weapon," he quipped. "Now all you need to do is figure out how it works and you're golden."

"You're worse than Uryuu," she groaned.

Her body began to shake, and the shopkeeper began moving forward.

And then, her eyes slid back in her head and she fell, Urahara catching her just before she hit the ground.

Kagome gave another groan before exhaustion and pain quickly overcome the vanishing adrenaline and she was out…

A/N:

Ginkaji- silver fire

Hope you've enjoyed. This will probably be the last thing I can do for a short while until my break starts, but when the opportunity arises, rest assured I'll give all of you who are enjoying more ASAP. Thanks for reading, and see you next time!


	43. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Limits

Kagome lay still on something soft. Slowly, noise filtered into her exhausted brain.

"Is… alright? … sure?" a familiar, squeaky voice asked, bringing her closer to full consciousness.

"Yeah, she's fine," another responded, this one rougher and feminine. "Just tired. She pushed herself too much."

Something shifted next to the miko, and she fully came to with a groan.

Lights instantly assaulted her eyes, and she gave another groan, rolling around and pushing her face into something soft that muffled the light.

Something cold pressed to her neck, and she reached up, feeling whatever it was. The shape confused her, and finally, she opened her eyes again to satisfy her curiosity.

What she found was that she was wearing a necklace that hadn't been there before she passed out in Urahara's basement.

A long, seamless black chain wrapped around her neck, holding onto the ornament. It looked like a Quincy-cross made of pure obsidian. But strangely, the cross also reminded her of a sword, the lines etched into the darkness seeming to form a hilt and blade.

When she touched it, expecting it to bite her, a spark left its form, and her arm started tingling. She immediately dropped it, glaring at it.

Luckily, that spark had also shown her that she still had on Ryuken's Quincy-cross, and Urahara's bracelet. With Kagura's bead-earring, and this necklace, she was starting to look like one of those people with entirely too much unnecessary jewelry.

She would've continued staring at the oddity, had a relieved sigh to her side not caught her attention.

Immediately, a large blur of orange and red filled her vision, and weight pressed her down into the bed.

"Momma!" a voice yelled, muffled by her chest.

A pair of arms wrapped around her neck, and her body started to scream from the weight on her overtaxed muscles.

"Ugh… Morning, Shippo…"

He apparently heard something in her tone, because he instantly let go and jumped off, setting inches away from her.

"Sorry. I was so worried!" he cried.

Without her son filling her vision, she found something odd. She was on an unfamiliar, unbelievably comfortable bed. The room around her was sterile, and stunk of antiseptic. She was in a hospital room.

Smiling, she ruffled her kit's hair, sitting upright against her protesting muscles.

"It's okay. A little overworking almost never killed anyone."

It was a lame joke, but he seemed not to get it anyway.

Unfortunately, she realized that there were other people in the room, and they _did_. Neither Rukia nor Ichigo seemed to much appreciate the humor, though Ichigo seemed to find it slightly more amusing than the former.

"Uh… hey."

Ichigo crossed the room, smirking. Their lips met, and Kagome felt her face burning as the other two stared.

Pulling away, his smirk was wider, not a hint of embarrassment to be seen.

"Hey yourself."

"Get a room," Rukia groaned.

"Well, technically, we're already _in _a room," Ichigo said, making Kagome burn brighter.

"Shut up," the Shinigami groaned, slightly pink in the face herself. "You should probably lie back down," Rukia added towards the tomato-faced miko.

"Probably," she agreed.

She bent back, her muscles relaxing without the weight and pressure on them.

"So, what happened, exactly?"

"What do you remember?" Rukia asked.

"Well, Urahara attacked. I realized I wasn't going to be getting out of the way… Then everything slowed down, and there was this voice. I answered it, and then this huge power filled me… And then everything goes black…"

"That'd be your Zanpakuto, talking to you… Alright. Here's the cliff's notes. Urahara pushed you too hard. That attack wasn't held back at all. When you were out of immediate danger, all that nice, high-inducing adrenaline you were running on dumped out of your system. And you crashed, hard."

"I did? I didn't think I'd pushed myself that hard," the miko gasped.

"You did."

"Okay… So, what's this thing?" she asked, lifting the foreign necklace.

"When you went down, your Zanpakuto vanished. In its place, that was wrapped around your neck," Rukia explained. "I've never seen a sealed sword look like that."

"This is my Zanpakuto!" she gasped, staring again at the necklace.

"If it isn't, then we'll all be even more confused. Kisuke had no clue, either. Oh, congratulations, by the way."

"What for?"

"You beat strawberry's record for Shikai," she explained, smirking when Ichigo gave her a glare.

"Really? By how much?"

"Months," she laughed. "Anyway, if you want more training, I'm not that hard to find around here."

With that, she turned and vanished from the room.

"She's not very talkative, is she?" Kagome quipped.

"Hell no. She makes me like positively social," Ichigo laughed.

His mirth quickly faded, and he sat down on the lone chair next to her bed.

"You're going to take a break, now."

"I am? From what?"

"Training."

"I'm fine, now," she argued. "I can't take any rest."

"Neither Uryuu or your uncle were happy when we showed up asking for a hospital room for you. And look where we are right now. You're in a _hospital _because you pushed yourself too hard," he mused.

"I've been through worse, and never needed a hospital before," she argued, getting irritated.

"Maybe. But did they even _have _hospitals where you were 'through worse'?" he questioned.

"Well… no," she sighed, turning red.

Smirking self-satisfactorily, he gave a nod.

"Didn't think so. Hell, it doesn't matter if you're a goddess in human form, you've still got limits. How many times since you got here do you think you passed them?"

She blushed, trying and failing to come up with an argument to that.

"Fine," she finally sighed. "You've got a point."

"Of course I do," he laughed, his expression extremely smug and teasing at the same time.

"Ugh… Alright, here's the thing. I can't _not _be active."

"It's true. I've barely seen her sit still in a _long _time. She's almost worse than me," Shippo laughed.

Giving him a halfhearted glare, she tweaked his ears, making him gave a sharp squeak.

"So," she continued, "I'll take a break. For three days. That should give me enough time to recover all my spent energy and let my muscles recover. Then, you're helping me. Deal?"

"Sure. If there are other things I can help you with," he added, smirking when she turned violently red.

"You're worse than the monk," she groaned.

"What?" he asked, looking completely innocent.

Shaking her head, she couldn't help but smirk.

"Three days. We'll see what happens after that."

"Deal."

A/N:

And there's the newest chapter! To get a better idea of how Kagome's Zanpakuto works while sealed, think of the Fullbrings in the current arc of the manga. If you aren't reading the current manga, it's basically that someone can call up the soul of an object and summon up another form. Really sorry for the delay in updates. I have a large part of the story planned out, but I'm having trouble making the connections to continue. So once I have that sorted out, I should be set for quite a few updates, so just be patient. Hope you enjoyed! See you next time!


	44. Chapter 43

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Break

Kagome awoke slowly the next morning, fully intending to stick to her promise not to do anything too exhaustive.

As soon as she managed to get herself awake, she got dressed, going for her most comfortable lounging clothes. That done, she went out into the living room, where Shippo was engrossed in a cartoon on the television.

It was a _really _strange sight, for sure, but not an unwelcome one.

She took a seat on the couch next to him, unable to hold off laughing when he didn't even appear to notice her existence.

As she watched him watch the cartoons in childish glee, she was hit with a pang of guilt over asking him to always keep his illusion up. Admittedly, it was always amazing seeing how skilled he was with kitsune-bi, for how young he was in kitsune terms, but still.

A commercial came on, and his interest instantly shifted.

"Morning, momma!"

"Good morning. I see you're enjoying the shows."

"Mhmm! There's this guy, and he's in the Shinsengumi! How cool is that!"

"The Shinsengumi? The samurais?"

"Uh-huh! He's really awesome! He just beat five guys by himself, and he's human! I didn't know there were many people out there that could fight like Sango or Miroku!"

Smiling, she watched as the cartoon came back on and his attention was instantly recaptured.

The show was pretty violent, actually, but there was some silver lining. She seriously doubted she'd be worrying about her son getting affected by violent shows. He'd seen the real thing, and there was no way cartoons could compare.

A thought occurred to her, though, and she brought it up when the next commercials came up.

"Hey, Shippo, aren't you going out to play with Yuzu and Karin today?" she asked, amused by the bright blush the blonde's name caused.

"Uh-huh… They said they'd be at the park at noon… I asked Uncle Uryuu when that was, and he said when the thing over there says twelve," he said, pointing at a clock on the wall.

Kagome suddenly realized that while giving him a, in her opinion, top-notch education in the past, she'd forgone some things. At the time, teaching him how to count time in anything but periods of sunlight had seemed pointless, since clocks wouldn't be around for a while.

That thought brought her to the realization that at some point, if she really wanted him to get along in the present, she would need to enroll him in school. And get him legally registered as existing. And get him some more modern clothes…

The thoughts were there and gone in a flash as she looked at the clock and saw the time.

"Well, you've got about ten minutes to get ready and get down there," she said.

"Uh-huh… I figured it out when it went from 10:59 to 11. I guess time doesn't go by hundreds, but sixties?" he mused.

At that, she was reminded of something that got rid of worries about teaching her small things; he was smart. Surprisingly smart, actually.

"That's right. Hey, you mind if I come with you?"

At that, he smirked, something in his expression causing Kagome to blush.

"You want to come with me? I guess you really _are _trying not to get anything after you, huh?"

"I'm not _that _bad," she whined.

"Yeah you are," he laughed. "But if you wanna' come watch me kick around a ball, that's up to you."

Ten minutes later found them both at the park, Shippo running excitedly towards the waiting sisters.

After a quick assessment, Kagome found a nice, shady tree, and settled in for the long haul.

After less than a minute, Karin brought out a soccer ball, and she gave Shippo some kind of demonstration of how to handle the ball with just the toe of her cleats.

After that, they got down to playing. It became readily apparent that Karin really played soccer, probably on a team, as she went against both Yuzu and Shippo, who were having a hard time keeping up.

It was entertaining to say the least to watch her son, with above-average everything, getting floored by Ichigo's sister. Apparently, having him thinking he was superior just because he was a demon in the human-filled present wouldn't be a problem, either.

She was brought out of her musings when she felt a sudden wave of cold next to her.

"Nope. I'm not getting into anything today."

Though she said it out loud, her conviction held up for all of five seconds before she looked toward the source of the frigidness.

What she found was a small boy sitting next to her in the shade. She looked completely normal, nothing amiss with her appearance. Excluding the fact that Kagome could see the grass on the other side of what should have been a chest.

"How'd you die?" Kagome asked, glad they were the only people in this area of the park.

The girl gave a start, looking around in surprise before finding Kagome.

"You… You can see me?"

Kagome gave a nod, thoughts of how such a young-looking girl could die making her heart break.

"H… How?"

"I'm… I'm a psychic… Do you know how you died? Do you have anyone you want to pass a message onto before passing on?"

It was a cliché ghost story question, but she wasn't exactly practiced in ghosts. So far, this only made the third she'd ever actually seen, that she could remember outside of Kikyo's absorbed souls.

"I… My friend and I were playing by the river… Mommy told us to stay away… We didn't. We were just playing, and then something suddenly grabbed me… I… I couldn't get back up… It was shallow water, but… The next thing I knew, nobody could see or hear me," the ghost said, almost in tears.

"It must've been a Hollow," Kagome mused, feeling traces of the sickly energy on the ghost. "Listen, honey, what's your name?"

Before the girl could reply, a huge, monstrous aura hit Kagome's senses, coming at them fast. The ghost turned and stared in its direction in terror, ethereal tears freely falling now.

Kagome rose, ready to drag the ghost and kids out of there. Before she could move, though, Karin suddenly quit playing, giving the other two some excuse.

As they started to play together, Karin ran up the hill Kagome was perched on top, her eyes wide.

"Kagome, there's a Hollow coming. Fast."

Kagome's eyes widened, staring at the girl who was probably half her age that didn't seem slightly scared over a monster heading for them…

A/N:

Sorry about the Shinsengumi bit, but I wanted to show Shippo just being a kid, and my inner history anime fan reared its ugly head. And I'm actually not sure, but I think the Shinsengumi were around in the time Inuyasha takes place, and therefore Shippo knowing about them wouldn't be too bizarre. I could be wrong, though. Hope you enjoyed, and there should be a few updates coming in very short order, so stay tuned! ^_^


	45. Chapter 44

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Break (Part II)

"How do you know? That it's coming, I mean?" Kagome asked, staring at the young Kurosaki.

"I've been able to sense ghosts for a while know. Probably a little before Ichigo became a Shinigami. It was a little while later, but I started being able to see Hollows and ghosts. And again, there's a huge one coming for us, so what do we do?"

"Go back down there, and hang out with Shippo. If you see ghosts and Hollows and Shinigami, you saw what he can do. He'll keep you both safe," Kagome stated, turning bodily towards the approaching creature.

"The ghost's probably drawing it in," Karin sighed. "Figures, when Ichigo'd be useful, he's off bumming with those weirdos with the masks."

Kagome gave herself a notice to bring that little bit up later, but she didn't exactly have time to go get him right then.

"Damnit," she sighed. "I was _really _trying to not do anything too strenuous… Karin, here it comes. Get going. You too, little ghost girl."

As soon as they started down the hill, a loud, echoing roar filled the air. Seconds later, it appeared.

It was a huge mass of obsidian skin. It had the vague form of a frog, with a pair of large, knobby arms hanging down to the ground, where they met its webbed feet. Its mask was a long, narrow thing in the form of a particularly bony vampire bat.

A pair of large, red lenses glared out, staring at the retreating ghost.

Kagome reached for her necklace, but thought better of it. It wasn't strong, but it wasn't weak, either. She wasn't even slightly nervous about handling it, so long as she didn't have to rely on her mediocre sword skills.

With another roar, it launched through the air, heading straight for the suddenly petrified ghost.

In an instant, Kagome spun and brought her bow to form. A massive, sparking pike of energy shot forth and smashed into its side mid-air.

It rolled, slamming hard into the ground in a cloud of smoke and dust as Kagome descended the hill.

It quickly rose to its feet, the sizable hole she'd made quickly shutting. Its eyes came to her, and a chill shot through the miko's spine at the hunger and hatred mixing with an odd intelligence there.

With a hiss, it launched for her. And it was immediately knocked back by another arrow, this one considerably less powerful than the first but no less effective.

This time when it came up, there was a bizarre smoke rising from where she'd hit it.

As she was focusing on the strangeness in it, she felt something _off _about its aura. As she watched, its body became encased in a thick, shimmering wall of ugly, bruise-purple and black energy.

Its mask split with an audible crack, and it gave a sound that could've been a laugh, if it could be described with sane words.

"_Dawdling will get you killed_," a dark voice screeched through her mind, the sound nearly knocking her to her knees.

"You can talk?"

Another laugh reached her ears, forming a headache.

"_I can. I'm a cut above those pathetic emptinesses."_

As the aura darkened around it, the Hollow began to change. It grew before Kagome's eyes, claws sharpening into a jackal's, while its arms and muscles lengthened and hardened.

The aura grew darker in a small area, and Kagome's heart dropped at the sickening familiarity. Sure enough, she saw it; the glowing, corrupted Shikon no Tama shard, embedded in its sided.

Kagome's grip on the bow reflexively tightened, the energy growing as she took a stance.

"Tell me now, Hollow, where you got that jewel."

"_A strange baboon dropped it in the river," _its voice laughed.

And then, it stopped growing, and there was no longer a body standing in its place.

Kagome reacted instantly, barely avoiding it as it came crashing down where she'd been standing. As she came out of her dive, the ground before her began to crack.

A wave of _something _hit her, sending her launching several feet into the air. Another attack came as she started going down, and she instantly pushed air under her feet, blasting herself out of the attack.

When she landed and started raising her bow, another blast was already heading for her, forcing her to dodge again.

It went on like this for several minutes, Kagome managing to only get in two arrows the whole time. And those wounds were useless, as any damage was instantly healed by the Shikon.

The miko quickly found herself getting exhausted, the constant dodging rapidly draining her. And unfortunately, the Hollow seemed to notice this, too.

It spun on the spot, another blast heading for the children.

"Shit!"

Kagome fired a massive arrow, its power ripping the ground under its path apart as it went. When it was near the children, she released another burst of energy, and it exploded outward into a huge, shimmering dome.

As soon as the Hollows attack hit, Kagome's vision grayed, the spent energy starting to hit her.

When her vision normalized, she found out entirely too late that the Hollow's attack had been a distraction. The mass of red, evil energy smashed into her and she went slamming hard into the ground, her hastily erected barrier just barely keeping the actual energy from her.

When she stopped rolling, she found she could barely move, muscles aching and screaming from the kinetic force.

Over the pain clouding her mind, she both felt and heard its earth-shaking approach.

"_Pathetic_," it laughed.

It came to a stop inches from her, another Cero building in front of it.

Just as it began to reach fatal sizes, something moved nearby.

And then a wall of shimmering, brilliant blue flames rose up from the ground.

The Hollow gave a hiss as one after another, balls of blue fire slammed into it. When the barrage finally let up, it was heavily burned, and shaking with visible agony.

Kagome looked to the source of the flames, and her heart stopped.

Shippo stood tall, glaring death at the Hollow. Because of the power used for his kitsune-bi, his illusion had dropped, and he bore his fangs angrily towards it, a pair of long, silky tails swirling around him.

Grunting, Kagome pushed herself up as the Hollow healed.

With a roar, it attacked her kit. He in turn jumped high into the air, flames rising around his hand.

"_Kitsune-bi_!"

The flames launched forward, blinding the monster and sending it sprawling.

Kagome rose fully, bringing her bow back and firing arrow after arrow.

The two worked together on the Hollow, one attacking while the other got its attention. Finally, it spun, releasing a massive wave of Ceros that scorched the ground.

As its attack turned towards the girls, Shippo threw a massive top into it. As soon as the Cero hit, it caught in the rotation and blasted straight back at the Hollow.

As soon as its defense was down, Kagome made her move. Ducking under it, she slammed her bow into its side, right above the shard.

When she pulled, the shard came out, and the wound stayed open as she jumped back.

"_Bitch_!" it snarled, whirling on her.

Its energy vanished rapidly, Shippo's still-there burns now seriously hurting it. Kagome pulled her bow taut, and the arrow that formed flickered with brilliant silver spikes.

"May your soul find peace."

Her arrow embedded itself in the Hollow's right eye. As the arrow vanished, its body began to visibly crack and flood with silver light.

And then, it gave one last roar, and nothing was left of it but ashes…

A/N:

Kitsune-bi- fox fire (don't know if I already covered this)

Well, this is the first time Kagome's kicked some serious ass after her training. Hope you enjoyed, and there will be some more goodness coming up shortly. Stay tuned ^_^


	46. Chapter 45

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Break (Part III)

Kagome's bow retreated back into her Quincy-cross, the miko staring at the surprising amount of destruction one Hollow with a small Shikon shard could cause.

All over the park, there were massive gouges and craters, some still smoldering from the unbelievable heat the Hollow's Cero had produced.

A whistle sounded at her side, and the miko turned to find Karin staring at where the monster had previously been, eyes wide.

"That's impressive. So, you're like Uryuu, huh?"

"Yup."

Karin gave a nod before turning towards Shippo, who was only now realizing his illusion was gone.

"Wow. That's new."

"Ummm… Momma?"

"Go ahead," Kagome said, answering an unasked question.

"Okay… Umm… I'm a kitsune," he said, smiling sheepishly at the sisters.

He was clearly expecting a violent reaction, which made sense due to the absolute lack of youkai in the present. What he got was surprising, to both him and his mother.

"That's kind of awesome," Karin mused.

"It's so cute! I wanna' pet him!" Yuzu squeaked.

That said, jumped at the kit, who dodged out of her reach. This started a chase where Yuzu continually tried to get her hands on his fur, her mouth practically watering.

"Ah! Help!" he yelled, running on all fours as the sister relentlessly followed.

Finally, Yuzu lunged, and they both went down, her face and hands molding into his silky tails. Both Karin and Kagome laughed at the display, while Shippo sat up with a brilliant blush and a large, embarrassed frown.

A sharp, cold jolt in her hand brought Kagome's attention down, and she saw the now-shimmering jewel shard. Pulling out her chunk of the Shikon, she quickly fused it, the jewel seeming to grow warm in her palm.

The sensation went away, and Kagome began to relax. Just as she started to, though, she sensed a strong aura that she'd only vaguely been aware of when the Hollow appeared nearby and spun.

It took her all of five seconds to find the source, a tall woman dressed as a sailor. She had long, obsidian hair, and her face was obscured by a large, narrow Hollow mask. As soon as Kagome spotted her, the woman vanished in a flash.

Before she could give chase, she felt Ichigo's energy approaching and gave up. It took him a while to reach them, since he was going at a human run, and then he was there, looking around the park.

He was clearly in shock of the large destruction, and he quickly descended towards them after finding nothing else amiss.

"Well, you're tired," he mused, eying her critically. "Can't believe you took on a Hollow like that by yourself."

"It wasn't too strong," she shrugged. "It just didn't stay hurt… I'm a little worried, though."

"You should be."

"No, not about that thing showing up. The thing had one of Naraku's shards of the jewel. Which means Naraku planned on getting it back at some point, and that's worrying, because it means he might still be around."

"Yeah, that ain't good," he agreed.

Kagome remembered the spirit, who was now crouching down next to Shippo and a still-ecstatic Yuzu, her ethereal face downcast.

"Oh, yeah. Think you can send her off?" she asked, turning to the Shinigami.

Ichigo followed her gaze and seemed to only just realize the ghost was there, pressing a small golden badge to his chest. In a flash of blue light, his body separated into two, the one not on the ground covered in the familiar black kimono.

He brought Zangetsu to beat, holding it over his shoulder as he approached the suddenly terrified ghost.

"Stay away!" she gasped, getting up and starting to run.

Ichigo was faster, putting a hand on her shoulder and holding her in place.

"Relax, kid. Trust me, you're better off going where they can't notice you."

With that, he placed the end of his hilt on her forehead, and she vanished in a flash of blue light.

That done, Ichigo returned to his body and gave Kagome a speculative glare.

"Something wrong?" she asked, blushing madly at the scrutiny.

"It's amazing."

"What is?"

"How much of a trouble magnet you are," he said, grinning.

"What!"

"Ya' didn't even make it a full day," he laughed.

"I… It's not _my _fault a ghost showed up! Or that the stupid Hollow swallowed a jewel shard!" she sputtered, face getting more red by the second.

"Yeah?"

"Y… Yeah! I didn't ask for them to show up," she said, pouting.

Unbeknownst to her or Ichigo, the others were watching with clear amusement, Yuzu still wrapped in a distracted Shippo's fur.

"You're right, but they still showed up," he laughed.

"I… I still have the rest of the day, and two more days to relax! It was a set-back, but I've still got plenty of time to relax," the miko growled, sure her face was actually on fire by this point.

He just laughed, clearly feeling he needed to be amused for the both of them. When it finally subsided, a strange light was in his eyes that had Kagome feeling like she was burning for an entirely different reason.

"Alright, I'll tell you what. I'll make a bet with you."

"A bet? What… _kind _of bet?"

"I bet you that something else will happen around you before the next two days are up."

"Isn't it bad luck to bet on that kind of thing?" she quipped.

"Maybe, but somehow I don't think it'll matter much in your case."

"F… Fine. What're the stakes?"

"What do you want them to be?"

His tone suggested he was thinking on an entirely different line than she was, and that made her blush, if possible by this point, even harder.

"If nothing happens, you take me on an extravagant date, and you train me so I can use my Shikai. Fighting that thing would've been much easier if I'd been able to attack it close up without worrying about getting hit back."

"Alright, that sounds fair," he agreed. "And if I'm right, then you're going to help me fix up that scrap metal."

"What? All talk?" she quipped, smirking.

"Nah, but it'll be fun to watch you get embarrassed trying to help," he laughed. "Oh, and you'll have to kiss me in fronta' Uryuu."

"P… Pervert," she gasped, her slowly normalizing complexion once again the shade of a tomato.

"Maybe," he laughed.

"F… Fine! You're on," she said, pouting defiantly at him…

A/N:

And so, the next chapter in Kagome's very short break from action. It's not going well so far, but who knows? Stay tuned to see who wins. See you next time! ^_^


	47. Chapter 46

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: A little bit of a heated scene

Break (Part IV)

Kagome walked along the street, whistling a low tune as she went.

"You're cheerful," Ichigo mused, walking at a lazy pace next to her.

"Uh-huh! Today's almost ever. A whole two and a half days. I'm not _nearly _as bad as you think. Better start thinking about where you're taking me," she laughed, mocking the Shinigami.

"Heh. Maybe. We've still got another few hours before it gets dark out for you to draw something in," he laughed.

"I am _not _that bad!" she cried, pouting and blushing.

"We'll see. Maybe you're right. Gee, I kinda' hope not. I'd hate to miss out on the experience of you kissing me in front of your uptight cousin. If you're that hot when you're just embarrassed, I can't imagine how hot you'd be in that situation."

Her jaw dropped, her face once again an extraordinary shade of red.

"How the hell do you do that?" she groaned.

Looking totally innocent, he turned to her.

"Do what?"

"This," she said, making a vague gesture at herself. "How the hell do you always get me so worked up?"

"Oh, you haven't even grasped being worked up, yet," he said, voice becoming lower.

And, once again, her face started burning for an entirely different reason, her mind getting frayed at the edges.

They stopped walking, her staring wide-eyed at him as he smirked. And then he started laughing, clearly in on something above the miko's head.

"What!" she asked, back to embarrassment.

"You're _really _fun to mess with," he laughed. "It's probably got something to do with how easy you make it."

"_What_?"

He stopped laughing and leaned close to her, humor gone.

"Do you get this flustered around everyone, or am I just that good?"

"I… uh… There's no right answer to that, cause either way you're gonna' make fun of me," she pouted.

"Nah, I think I want to see what shade you turn if you're _really _embarrassed."

With that, he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips before she even knew what was happening. The relatively harmless kiss quickly turned warmer, Kagome's body heating in response to the until-recently-unfamiliar contact.

He gently pressed a hand to the back of her head, the other ghosting over her spine. As the kiss deepened, Kagome found that yes, she _could_, in fact, turn more red as a small moan left her.

When the sound reached his ears, he pulled back slowly, eyes shining with a strange light as they both panted.

Another smile formed, this one with an edge of something else.

"Yeah, you're definitely sexy when you're embarrassed."

Kagome was speechless, her brain not kicking her any words to say as she panted.

The scene came to an abrupt end, however, when a wave of cold swept over them. As one, they turned to find a woman running towards them, her body transparent. Behind her was a Hollow, though it was so weak it was no wonder they hadn't even picked up on it while they were… otherwise engaged.

Kagome's head hung, words finally registering.

"Damnit!"

Ichigo gave a laugh, the atmosphere ruined and his humor back in place.

"Oh, look, Kagome. What's that in the distance? Could it be trouble?" he mocked.

"Oh, come on. That thing shouldn't even be counted. It's weak enough that it'll probably turn tail and run as soon as it gets near you," she complained, pouting.

He eyed it, seeming to consider something.

"Yeah, you're probably right. It's a pretty weak one. Hell, I probably don't even need to transform to kick its ass. Alright, I won't count it, but you've still got a few hours to go."

Sure enough, the ghost passed them, and the Hollow slid to a halt when it felt Ichigo's energy. As it started to turn, he picked up a large, thick branch at his feet and threw it.

It left his hands glowing slightly, and the second it stabbed into the Hollow, it gave a shriek and turned to ash.

Kagome gave a clap, smirking.

"That's a good arm you've got."

"Heh. Thanks."

After that, they headed back into Karakura proper, roaming around. As they walked, they talked, about pretty much anything and everything they could think of.

As the sun began to set, they headed for Uryuu's.

"Wow. You actually won. I'm actually kinda' surprised."

"Ha! I _told you _I'm not that bad," she laughed, sticking out her tongue childishly.

"Careful. If you keep that out around me, I might have you put it to better uses," he said, laughing as she immediately retracted it and turned violently red from her scalp down.

"You really are a pervert! Geez, Uryuu was right!" she sputtered.

"Did I ever deny it?" he quipped.

The door opened, and Uryuu stepped out, looking annoyed.

"Well, a bet's a bet. Be ready tomorrow night. We'll head into Tokyo for that date. Then we'll get to the training Saturday. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

The miko stood still under the pair's gazes, her pale complexion slowly turning tomato-red again. If she wasn't careful, it might stay that color if it kept up at this rate.

Leaning forward, she pulled Ichigo down, planting a passionate kiss on his lips. She was only vaguely aware of her cousin's jaw dropping as her body turned to mush, just barely able to stay standing as the Shinigami responded to the kiss.

When she started seeing spots, she pulled away, gasping.

It took Ichigo a short while to come out of his shock, and then he gave her a questioning look.

"I lost the bet."

"I like to think that the bet didn't really have a loser, per se. Think of it as the runner up prize," she said, sure her face would start to melt.

Smiling, she skipped inside, past her sputtering and shocked cousin and a stupidly grinning Ichigo…

A/N:

Well, I gave you hints of what's to come. Hope you liked, and are still enjoying the story. As always, be sure to give me your thoughts, be they positive or not, especially on this one since I've rarely written any kind of romantic scene before. See you next time!


	48. Chapter 47

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Break (Part V)

Kagome walked into the kitchen, her senses immediately picking up on Uryuu's aggravation.

Humming softly to herself, she set about making a snack, barely repressing a laugh as she felt her cousin glaring at her back.

After he'd finally gotten enough brain cells working again after the display he'd seen, he'd come in after her in an embarrassed rage. Apparently, he didn't much like being witness to what he called a horrifying display of anyone related to him getting cozy to Kurosaki.

"Good afternoon," she chirped.

"What's good about it? I'm going to have nightmares for weeks," he groaned.

"You'll get over it."

"Why _Ichigo_? There are plenty of people around here who aren't Shinigami."

"Maybe, but what fun would that be?" she asked, pulling down a candy bar. "Besides, _I'm _a Shinigami, sort of."

"_You're _family," he argued.

"Awe, I feel loved," she laughed. "I take it Shippo went out already?"

"Yeah. Speaking of which, I'd better be going. Can I trust you won't burn my house down while I'm at the hospital tonight?" he asked, standing up.

"I plan on being low-key, tonight. I'll be in the city anyways, hopefully for a good portion of the night."

He just groaned again before he left.

With nothing better to do while she waited, Kagome took to lounging in the living room and staring mindlessly at the show playing.

She was snapped out of it when a knock came at the door, and quickly got up to answer it. She was amazed at how fast the day had slipped by and darkness had settled in as she headed for the door. And her heart started to race as soon as she did.

Ichigo stood outside, dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans that had her brain burning, right along with her face. She blushed even more when she realized his eyes were slowly crawling up from her legs, and he appeared to greatly approve of what he saw.

Because of her motto to always be prepared, Kagome had brought along the one dress she owned with her, in case she decided to treat herself and Shippo while she was in Karakura. It was a small, black thing that fit her like a glove, and accentuated her best… _assets_. And he seemed to enjoy it immensely.

When his eyes locked with hers, he had a huge grin.

"Well, now, maybe we should stay in," he laughed.

"Oh, no. A bet's a bet," she managed to force out before pushing him out the doorway and locking Uryuu's house behind her.

"I'm starting to think losing wasn't so bad after all," he laughed as he led her to a small, black sedan.

They quickly headed out of Karakura, Kagome blushing the entire time. She was only vaguely worried about how much more attention he was paying to her than the road, but she supposed that it was fine, since most traffic was in the main city, and not where they were driving.

"So, where are we going?"

"I figured dinner will be good. Maybe a club, if you're up to it?"

"Uh… We'll see. I'm not exactly the party starting type, you know?"

"Well, I dunno. You could start plenty as long as you're wearing _that_," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

Blushing, she averted her eyes to the scenery passing her window. As they drove further into Tokyo, she became more and more aware of his burning gaze every time they stopped, her blush getting worse by the second.

Finally, they pulled up in front of a small, homey-looking diner. Before she even realized they'd reached their destination, Ichigo was out of the car and opening her door, his grin even bigger than before.

For a Saturday night, the restaurant was surprisingly uncrowded, and they were seated in impressive time. After giving their orders, they both got relaxed in the small booth, a comfortable silence taking hold for several moments.

"I feel kinda' bad for Uryuu," Ichigo finally laughed.

"He'll get over it. Eventually. Probably," she shrugged, grinning.

"Didn't take you for an exhibitionist. I think you nearly gave him a heart attack."

"I'm not an exhibitionist," she argued, blushing even harder. "Besides, you had to get _something _for putting up with me for so long."

"Heh. Trust me, that's no trouble. Especially if you start wearing _that _when we hang out."

"Is this dress _really _that amazing? You almost crashed staring at me on the way over here."

"Hmm… Well," he started as his arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her flush against him, "it's a great work of art. Course, that could be because of what's in it, too."

Kagome was positive that his shirt was going to catch fire with her face, as hot as it felt, pressed against his shoulder. She wasn't used to compliments from guys who weren't muscle-headed idiots, and she was pretty sure from the knowing smirk he was currently wearing that it showed.

Luckily, their dinners came then, and she had an excuse to extract herself without looking like she was running away.

Surprisingly, the meal was delicious, and through the entire thing, Ichigo gave her stories of his past much the same as she'd done previously. Except his were funnier, and by the time she finished her meal and they were leaving, she was starting to get lightheaded from laughing so hard.

After he finished his latest story, she finally managed to get some air and weighed her apprehension for clubs with not wanting the date to end while it was so fun. It took her only a brief few instants to come to her decision.

"So," she managed after finally regaining her composure, "about that club."

"Feeling up to it?" he asked, giving her that knowing smirk.

"Yeah. But not for too long… I don't like crowded places too much."

Grinning, he led her to the car, and less than ten minutes later, they were in front of a warehouse, the heavy beats of techno so loud they reached the pair's ears as soon as they got out of the car. Lights flared from the windows, changing colors every few seconds.

Just as they reached a door, Ichigo noticed that Kagome went rigid, her face paling. He didn't understand why, until he heard the screeching.

"Kagome!" three voices rang out in unison.

Seconds later, three women appeared from down the street. They completely ignored Ichigo, grabbing up Kagome like a flock of vultures.

"It's been such a long time!"

"How've you been?"

And so it went, the three firing off question after question without giving the miko any time to actually answer, her expression being one of resignation. Clearly this wasn't the first time something like this happened with the three.

When they finally calmed down, one of them noticed a bemused Ichigo, a frown etching her face.

"Can I help you?" she asked, somewhat rudely.

With a sigh of relief, Kagome slipped past the one that was distracted and stepped up next to him.

"This is Ichigo."

"Ichigo? As in the thug from Karakura?" one of them asked, eyes wide.

"You know this guy!" another gasped.

"Ah, he's not as bad as all that," Kagome laughed.

"Well, sometimes," Ichigo added, smirking and wrapping an arm around her neck.

"He's your boyfriend?"

"Yeah," the miko responded, grinning like an idiot and blushing heavily.

"What is it with you and dangerous guys?" one of them sighed.

"You've got a thing for dangerous guys?" Ichigo asked, barely holding back her laughter.

"It's not like it sounds," she said, blushing brighter.

The three girls locked onto the blush like sharks with fresh blood.

"Are you in love with this guy? Kagome, he's dangerous!" the one that had been calmest exclaimed.

Kagome's entire body blushed, Ichigo's gaze seeming to burn.

"Uh… Hey, is that Hojo?"

The three girls turned, and with a burst of energy, Kagome vanished, so fast that Ichigo's arm hadn't even lowered by the time the girls realized it was a distraction and turned back around.

"Man, she can really run," Ichigo laughed. "If you'll excuse me, ladies."

Before they could react, Ichigo turned and started going after the miko, kicking it into inhuman speeds once he was safely out of sight. It took him all of half a minute to find her resting against a brick building, still bright red.

"Man, you're sexy when you're embarrassed," he quipped, wrapping his arms around her. "Your friends're funny as hell."

"They're pretty aggressive," Kagome muttered.

"Yeah, I got that," he laughed.

"So much for the club. They'll probably station themselves out there all night," she groaned.

"With how fast you are, I doubt they'd spot you."

"It'll be suspicious if I keep giving off pulses like that. I'm not sure how effective Urahara's bracelet really is, when I'm actually using my powers."

"Well, we can always give them a show to make them run away," he quipped, pulling her closer against him.

Her body relaxed immediately, her blush burning brighter and a small sigh escaping her as he did.

"Wouldn't you prefer to keep the show private?" she asked, gasping when she realized what she'd said.

"Hmm… Yeah, I would. I kinda' like havin' you all to myself," he responded, voice getting huskier.

"We should… probably go," Kagome gasped, mustering up an impressive amount of will to separate from him.

Nodding, he moved before she could react and pulled her up into a bridal carry. Seeing her ever-intensifying blush, he gave a huge grin.

"Since you don't want to risk running, I'll do it."

With a small squeak, they were gone. As Kagome had predicted, the girls were standing in front of the club, talking loudly as they stood. To Ichigo's credit, though, he was fast enough that he completely bypassed them without missing a beat, and before the girls knew they were there, the car was pulling away.

The drive was entirely too short, for both of them. Glances passed between the two the entire ride, both getting increasingly warmer the longer they stayed in the car. And when Ichigo parked at his house and escorted her home, Kagome afraid that his hand would light on fire from the heat she felt.

When they came to a stop at Uryuu's house, Ichigo knelt down and initiated a kiss. By the time either pulled up for air, they were beginning to see spots and were panting through grins.

"Damn this was a good night."

Kagome opened the door, pulling him inside with her.

"I'd rather it not end, yet. Uryuu's got some wine, if you're interested. He's at uncle Ryuken's hospital, and Shippo could sleep through a bomb dropping on the house, so we shouldn't be disturbed."

His face beginning to match hers in burning sensations, he simply nodded, following her into the kitchen.

When two glasses were full, they took a seat together on a couch, pressing as together as possible. But when they began to kiss, Kagome's hand tipped, and Ichigo gave a yelp as the cold wine spilled onto his lap.

In a flash, Kagome had a towel and was mumbling apologies as she tried to save face and soak up as much of the wine as possible.

But when she heard a soft moan, she felt her heart skip a beat, feeling something twitching under her ministrations. When she realized what it was, she realized that the heat hadn't been from embarrassment for quite some time that night.

Stopping her salvage operation, she looked up to find Ichigo's face inches from her own, his eyes clouded over and his breathing heavy.

As they kissed, she felt her body burn hotter and hotter, the experience kicking to an all-new high as she felt a hand grasping her breast. When the other hand started copying, Kagome's mind went blank in a red haze…

A/N:

Sorry for the long break in updates. I recently got caught up in drawing, so most of the days I was planning on working on this story went by faster than expected and so it went cold for a while. Hope this and the next few chapters to come will make up for it.

Also, I've got very little experience writing romance, so I'd very much like any thoughts on how I handled it.


	49. Chapter 48

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Heavy Lemons (This means sex, and lots of it)

Break (Part VI)

Ichigo leaned forward, deepening the kiss.

Kagome gave a soft mewling sound as his hands worked harder on her breasts, the thin dress doing little to keep her from the pleasure.

She leaned in, pressing their bodies as close as possible to try to rid herself of some of the unbelievable heat coursing through her veins.

One of Ichigo's hands left her breasts, sliding under the hem of her dress. The miko gave a large shudder as soon as his hand met her thigh, slowly sliding the fabric upwards.

The hand burned a torturous trail upwards, her dress coming well above her hips as the hand traveled. When it came into contact with the thin fabric of her panties, an electric jolt zapped through Kagome, her entire body nearly snapping from the way she jerked in response.

Suddenly, Ichigo's eyes opened as he felt a damp heat under his palm, the lust clouding his gaze being slightly overtaken by lucidity. Both hands left her, and Kagome found herself desperately trying to regain the contact.

"We've only known each other two weeks. You sure you're ready for this?" he asked, the question clearly paining him.

That brought Kagome slightly out of her own lusty stupor, the red color of her skin once again being at least in part due to embarrassment.

"Umm… Yeah, you're right," she said between pants.

"Damnit," he groaned. "My conscience chose now to remind me you're not exactly the kind to rush to sex."

As she moved away a few inches, her body started aching to close the distance again and forget about idiotic things like logic. Surprisingly, her brain working on a moderately normal level didn't hinder the ache at all.

"You're right… But you know, I was kind of intrigued by you when we met outside of town in the first place… and it's been a _long _two weeks," she mused. "And with Urahara's basement completely screwing with time, even longer than that."

Kagome unconsciously moved her hands back and forth as she thought, nibbling on her lower lip.

She was brought out of her musings, though, when she heard a low groan. And something twitched under her palm at the same time.

Sure her face was now literally smoking, her gaze slowly moved down to her hand…

… which hadn't moved from his wine-covered lap since the half a minute or so ago that they'd started.

"Heh… Be careful," Ichigo groaned, voice husky. "I wouldn't want your clumsiness to set me off."

Kagome gave him a mock glare, trying to distract herself as her hand was pulled back.

"I'm not that bad," she said, sticking her tongue out childishly.

If it was possible, Kagome could swear even her tongue was blushing, as his eyes locked on the small appendage, lust once again completely clouding his gaze.

"I warned you about better uses for that," he quipped, lowering himself so their faces were almost touching.

Their lips connected, and fire once again consumed Kagome's mind, obliterating rational thought as her entire world centered on their tongues dancing between the two.

Lust completely overriding her rationality, she gave him a soft push, putting him back against the couch.

A small smile curved her lips and she leaned forward, heart beating a painful tempo in her chest.

Slowly, she reached behind her back, pulling her dress's zipper down. In one move, it slipped off her body, the only thing keeping her from being completely exposed a pair of lacy black panties.

A thrill went through her at the look that Ichigo was giving her, a fire burning hot in her stomach that seemed to make her very blood into liquid heat. Heart beating a mile a minute, she went back down to her knees.

"I can think of a better use myself," she quipped, slowly dragging his zipper down.

"Kagome-"

"I'm a virgin, but my friends aren't," she said out of the blue.

"Okay…"

Ichigo stared down at her, confusion marring with lust as her hand boldly slid into his open zipper and pulled out his erect penis.

They talked all the time about all the stuff they did when we were still in school… I was always kinda' curious," the miko stated, lowering her face towards the member.

Sticking her tongue out, she experimentally licked his tip, and a powerful jolt zapped through both of them, Ichigo groaning at the contact.

"Kag-oh!"

Kagome stared up at him, her tongue traveling from the bottom of his shaft upwards.

When she reached the tip, her eyes narrowed, and her breathing began to come in gasps.

"Itaidakimasu."

Ichigo's entire body gave a powerful jerk when Kagome descended, taking two inches into her mouth as she did.

The taste of him quickly filled her mouth, finding that her friends had been right about the odd but delicious taste.

Ichigo bent forward, his hands slowly tracing down her collar bone before coming to rest on her breasts. As she sucked, he began to slowly play with her nipples, which were becoming hard as diamonds under his ministrations. The contact was clouding Kagome's mind even further, the space between her thighs quickly becoming damp.

Not sure what was making her so bold, Kagome began sliding her head up and down, managing to take in almost his entire length before it hit the back of her throat and made her gag.

Going slower so as not to choke, she began to go from his tip to her limit, Ichigo's body stiffening with every pass.

"Damn, that feels awesome," he groaned, hands moving from her nipples to tangle in her hair.

Kagome moaned at the touch on her hyper-sensitive skin, the vibrations running like an electric current along his penis.

Her eyes widened as his shaft expanded and his grip tightened. Seconds later, he exploded and her mouth was filled with a strange, salty liquid.

As soon as he'd came, Ichigo released his hold on her, breathing hard and staring down.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away."

Kagome reflexively gulped, draining the liquid down her throat. The taste was strange, but not unpleasant, and she slowly pulled back from his deflating length.

She was suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that her inner thighs were wet, her panties a damp weight between her legs. She'd never experienced this level of heat outside of actual blazes, her entire body feeling like one big fire that burned more with each heartbeat.

And then, Ichigo stood up, and his mouth was on hers. As his hand came up and brushed at her spot, she turned to jelly, falling bonelessly into his arms. Her world centered on the heat in her lower abdomen and her head, the dual sensations of his lips and hand driving her crazy.

She hadn't been aware of how aroused she really was until she came, barely three seconds after his hand had connected with her covered sex. She let out a loud scream, biting down into Ichigo's shoulder to muffle the noise and not cause a commotion.

When the shockwaves rode out, they both fell onto the floor, his arms around her and her head buried in his neck.

"Holy fuck. I think we should-"

Kagome sealed off whatever Ichigo'd been about to say with a kiss, the jolt and release of her orgasm not doing much to relieve the heat coursing through her.

Before she'd consciously made the decision, she slipped out of her panties, her burning skin flinching as it came into contact with his own, both of them groaning at the sensation.

"Kagome, are you sure about this?" Ichigo hissed, clearly taking a lot of strength to ask.

"I… don't think I could stop now if I wanted to."

With that, his grip on her tightened and they rolled, ending up with her underneath him.

"Then we should do this right," he stated, brushing his once again fully erect member again her entrance.

She purred at the sensation, her arms wrapping around his back and her eyes closing in bliss.

"Gently, please."

Nodding, he entered her, going in a few inches and backing out to the tip. He did this several times, both of them shuddering at the unbelievable feeling.

When she'd grown more accustomed to the intrusion, she gave a nod, and he began pushing in further until he came up against her barrier, her giving a wince when he bumped against it.

"Last chance," he hissed, sliding back in and out several times until gave a nod.

With that, he pushed forward, burying himself about halfway into her. She gave another, louder pained wince as he broke her hymen, feeling like she'd been punched in the stomach.

He didn't move for several moments, not daring to further hurt her. He leaned forward and licked up the single tear that had escaped each of her eyes, giving her a passionate kiss. When he pulled up for air, she appeared less pained, and she pulled on his shoulders to encourage him.

With that, he began sliding in and out of her at a moderate pace, any pain on her part quickly forgotten in favor of unbelievable pleasure.

"Oh, holy fuck," she gasped, her legs rising up and tangling around his butt, encouraging him to move faster.

It didn't take long for her to reach her second orgasm, which turned over into her third as he continued pushing while she was riding the waves of pleasure.

Finally, he gave a grunt, eyes narrowed.

"I'm about to cum," he gasped.

She didn't acknowledge him, gasping and moaning in the throes of her fourth orgasm. The clenching of her vagina milked him, pushing him over the edge into her.

With one last moan, Kagome went still, Ichigo lying limply on top of her as they both came down from their rush.

Kagome was the first to move next, slowly sliding to her feet and then helping him to his. Eyes still clouded with lust, she grabbed up her panties and dress from the floor and started walking away with Ichigo in tow.

She quickly entered the shower, he joining her after dropping their clothes in her room. The shower took longer than it ever normally would have, and was far more pleasurable, three more orgasms under their collective figurative belts by the time they came out.

They then moved on to the bedroom. And they fully utilized the room for its intended purpose that night. _Well _into the night.

Gasping, they laid side by side, taking another break. By this point, the lust and heat had _finally _begun to dissipate, slightly, letting a small bit of brain into availability for exactly two sentences.

"I think I love you, Ichigo."

"Same for me, too," he responded.

And then, they were back at it, until both fell asleep of exhaustion…

A/N:

Itaidakimasu- roughly 'thanks for the food'

Okay, I'm out of my element writing a sex scene, but I gave it a shot. Input would be great. Also, a critique I got from my proofreader was that I'd thus far portrayed Kagome as the type to be too smart to just decide to have her first time having sex on the fly, because she seemed smart, being in medical school; my defense is that I also made her impulsive thus far, and want your opinions on that, as well.

Hope you enjoyed, see you next time!


	50. Chapter 49

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Training

Kagome awoke with a pleased purr, a strange sense of foreboding in her mind being drowned out by her body, filled with a strange, delicious heat that she couldn't comprehend.

As she rolled onto her back, she became aware of a dull ache between her legs, and breathing next to her head. But what got her up with a jolt was the fact that she was naked and covered in sweat, and the arm wasn't Shippo's.

Looking over, she found Ichigo sleeping peacefully, and last night came back to her with a jolt. She'd had sex. With Ichigo. On a complete impulse.

"Fuck," she groaned, staring down at him as ice spread through her veins.

It wasn't out of regret that she was worried, surprisingly. But she'd been impulsive, and that meant she might have taken stupid risks.

Had they used protection? She wasn't sure, as her mind had been in a complete haze that blocked rational thought, but she didn't have any recollection of anything but the feeling of skin on skin. And she wasn't on the pill.

"Fuck," she reiterated to herself.

Taking stock of herself, she found that a lot of the liquid on her body wasn't sweat. Which was slightly horrifying, making her wonder how much she'd done on impulse last night that she wasn't recollecting. But on the other hand, as nasty as it was that Ichigo's seed was on her, it meant that most if not all wasn't _in _her, which was a huge relief.

As Ichigo slowly came to, she vowed then and there that she was getting on the pill as soon as she went out that day.

That done, she again took stock of her body, and looked at it from a different light. She'd had sex. _With Ichigo_. And even through a haze, she recalled it feeling amazing enough that she was eager to do it again.

"That for me?" Ichigo mumbled, pointing at her stupid grin and beet red face.

She simply nodded, lying back down and putting her arm around his waist.

His arm lazily trailed up and down her side, sending pleasant shivers up her spine. Smiling, she leaned forward and they began kissing in earnest.

Pulling up for air, Kagome smirked at him, lightly tapping his forehead.

"Easy. Wouldn't want to tire you out for the day, which could easily happen if you keep going," she murmured.

"Heh. I wouldn't mind that. But you've got a point," he sighed, sitting up against the headboard.

She went with him, leaning her head on his shoulder and smiling like a fool.

"Last night was great," she mused.

"Great doesn't cover it," he responded, grinning.

Suddenly, his eyes grew thoughtful, and then terrified and wide.

"Oh, shit! We didn't-"

"Already got it covered," she soothed, rubbing his steely chest. "But you should definitely invest in some protection. A lot of it, preferably, cuz I'm definitely planning on doing that again," she added.

She felt his chest rumble with a laugh, grinning fiercely.

"Yeah? Can I take it I was satisfactory, Ms. Higurashi?"

"Satisfactory doesn't cover it," she retorted, smirking.

And then, they were kissing again, bodies rapidly heating up. But it came to an abrupt end entirely too soon. Right around the time they heard a lock turn, and the front door of Uryuu's house open.

Both of their eyes widened in horror, staring at each other.

"I don't particularly feel like getting an arrow shot into my ass for deflowering Uryuu's cousin today," Ichigo stated, scrambling for his clothes.

"Yeah, I don't particularly want to see that, either. Think he's noticed your reiatsu yet?"

In an instant, his energy levels vanished, as though he wasn't even there as he got dressed.

Just as he finished, the knob to her door started twisting, Ichigo dropped under the large bed, hiding from view before Uryuu stepped inside while Kagome covered her nakedness in blankets.

His face instantly scrunched up, seeming to smell something terrible. Which brought to Kagome's attention that her room did, in fact, stink of their mingled scents, which would've given her a pleased thrill had her cousin not noticed, too.

"It reeks in here," he stated.

"Do you want something?" she asked, pretending to be annoyed like he'd just woken her up.

With her fevered-appearing skin and rumpled hair, it wasn't hard to pull off, but he wasn't buying it.

"Yeah. I got in the door and felt Kurosaki's energy all over the place."

"We were on a date, and ended up here. So?"

"Yeah? Okay, so why the hell was there blood on my carpet?" he growled.

Kagome's face instantly started to burn, abject humiliation coloring her. Of course she hadn't thought to make sure that her first time had been… messy… considering her state of mind. Thinking quickly, she decided to piss him off to take his mind off the subject.

"It's wine… We were having drinks, and I got a little drunk… Ummm… I sorta spilled some," she said sheepishly.

"Uh-huh… So why's it stink like sex in here?"

_That_, she was having a hard time come up with a plausible but non-embarrassing explanation. Not seeing one, she just decided on the plausible, and forwent her dignity.

"I'm a grown woman… When I'm drunk I get a little-"

"Stop," he said, his face now as red as hers. "I get it. Sorry I asked. Never mention this again," he groaned. "But if Kurosaki took advantage of you, I'm gonna' kick his ass."

"I reiterate that I'm a grown woman, and can make my own choices, Uryuu," she stated before she could stop herself, a childish need to win the growing argument rearing its ugly head.

"Oh, for the love of- Fine, whatever. But please, for all that's holy, don't taint my house fucking him here," he groaned, walking away before he could see the brilliant, nearly glowing shade of red her face had become.

Muffled laughing sounded at her side, and Ichigo stood up, heading for the window.

"I think we just got permission," he stated. "So, I'll go now and let you get back to being a little-"

"Shut up!" she cried, nearly on the verge of tears from embarrassment.

Laughing, he gave her a head-spinning kiss before exiting.

"See you tomorrow for training, as per the deal. Love ya."

And with that, he was gone, his last two words ringing in her head.

Several minutes after he was gone, the sense of foreboding she'd had when waking up returned, and it was nasty enough to completely flush out all of her warm and fuzzy feelings in an instant.

Analyzing the feeling, she knew something _seriously _bad was on the way.

Latching onto the comforting thoughts of Ichigo and last night, she took a shower and got dressed before heading into the kitchen. As soon as she sat down, Uryuu tensed, seeming to sense something in her expression.

"Uryuu, I need you to teach me how to use those silver tubes."

"What? Why? Don't think that I'll let you screwing Ichigo just because you're asking me to help-"

"Something bad's on the rise. Very, _very _bad. I don't know what, but my intuition's warning me that I need to be ready."

Studying her for several moments, he gave a slow nod.

"Alright. Eat, and then meet me at the construction site."

With that, he left, and fifteen minutes later found her joining him.

He lifted up a silver tube for her to see, the cast nearly glowing in the sunglight.

"This is a Ginto. It stores spiritual energy in liquid form and are a way for the Quincy to match the Shinigami's Kido techniques. There are five ways I know of to use them, and more if you get creative. There's Seele Schneider, of course. Heizen, Gritz, Wolke, and Sprenger. Each one has its different uses, but the fastest to learn and easiest to get you out of danger will be Wolke, which creates a large, volatile blast of energy."

"Volatile? It could blow me up?" she asked, eyes wide.

"If you're an idiot. It takes a lot less control to just throw a grenade than shoot a laser. Wolke can be either. Remember that."

With that, he tossed the silver tube to her, Kagome quickly catching it.

Pulling another one out, he demonstrated several commands before pointing at her.

"Your turn. Focus, and don't kill yourself."

"Easy for you to say," she muttered, staring warily down at the tube as though it might explode at her. Which, given what she was about to do, it very well could.

"Tilt the goblet to the west-_Emerald Grail_!"

The tube filled with a brilliant mist of blue energy, and then exploded. Kagome flew backwards, her arm bleeding heavily and her aches from sex paling in comparison to the pain ripping through her synapses.

With a curse, Uryuu ran up to her and pulled out another tube. Turning it over, he spilled the bright liquid onto her injury. With an equally bright flare of light, the injury vanished, though the pain remained.

"Okay. You used it. But you didn't control the flow, so it just blew to hell. Try again, but think of it as though you were building your arrows," he said, handing her another vial.

Glaring hatefully down at the tube, she pushed herself to her feet, once again focusing on the silver.

"Tilt the goblet to the west-_Emerald Grail_!"

This time the explosion came straight in front of her, a large crater forming in the cement. But the shockwave still rippled along her arm, causing more pain. Clearly, these weren't to be used lightly.

"Alright. You got it, and in only two tries. If you're desperate, that control's not going to be there, but another use for these is to use the collected spirit energy to heal yourself. We should stop now, and you should take one or two of these things wherever you go, in case whatever you're predicting happens soon," he added, handing her two more Ginto.

Nodding, she stashed them into her socks, fitting them so they were accessible but well hidden, just in case. She had the feeling she'd be needing them soon with every second that passed the rest of that day, thoughts of her boyfriend and lover only slightly calming the fear…

A/N:

Ginto- silver tube

Heizen- Heating in German/Sacred Bite in Japanese

Gritz- Five Rack Ties

Wolke- Cloud in German/Green Cup in Japanese

Sprenger- Explosion in German/Ripping Glass Formation in Japanese

Also, oh, just wow. I just added all the chapters up to this point into an omnibus, just out of curiosity. Not counting the disclaimers and author's notes, so far, I've written 60,554 words for this story, and I have at least another 15 chapters planned for the future, the ideas for the story continuing to grow. The accepted length of a basic novel is 40,000. Makes me think that it would be awesome if I could write these online chapter-by-chapter stories with my own novel ideas. I think I could do fantastically! I was actually entertaining changing this story into a novel, changing all the base concepts to none-copywritten ones. What do you, the readers, think? If this were a novel, not a fanfiction based on a mythos you already knew, would you read it, or does the story only work because it already has established settings and characters?


	51. Chapter 50

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Fight or Flight

Kagome slashed, her dagger making a high-pitched screech as it sliced the air. Coming out of the strike, she spun, stabbing downward at an imaginary opponent.

Ichigo had trained her the entire afternoon, taking her soreness into consideration but not taking it easy on her by any means. She ached and burned, but it had worked.

She was now practicing several variations of attacks he'd demonstrated with his Zanpakuto, adapting them for her dagger Shikai. She seemed to be getting better with it, and now, with every stroke of her blade, she put in a small amount of energy, a burst of silver fire coming from the edge with each swing.

It was exhausting, but she was slowly learning to master her Shikai's ability.

The training and Ginto in either of her socks was making her slowly immune to that nagging little voice telling her that something bad was going to happen. Luckily, it was still in place.

Which is why when they appeared, she knew immediately and sealed her Zanpakuto, pretending to be lazing around in the sun.

Several Shinigami appeared, gripping their swords and looking ready to use them.

"Kagome Higurashi, will you come with us?" one of them asked, wearing a ninja-like costume.

"Ah, no. Could you get out of the sun?" she asked, forcing herself to stay relaxed in their shadows.

The sound of metal clearing wood brought her eyes up, and she found the edge of a sword pointed towards her.

"It's been decided that, after observation, you can't be allowed to roam free."

"Oh? Well that's interesting," she mused, body tensing.

"You're entirely too dangerous. All you need to do is think of the damage you caused fighting just _one _Hollow to understand," the leader sneered.

Slowly, she stood, eying them each in turn as she went. There were eight in total, and the leader was the only one with a decent amount of power. But they still had swords, and could throw who-knows-what at her, so that didn't mean much comfort.

"One Hollow, huh? Actually, it was one _Espada_. And I don't intend to let you guys just abduct me."

"That's a shame," he responded, the sound of screaming metal catching her attention.

She spun, slamming the attack out of the way with her Quincy bow before kicking him in the ribs. When he bent forward, she brought her elbow down and slammed him into the ground.

Acting on the surprise her reaction time had caused, she turned and fired two arrows, already taking down almost half of her assailants.

A sword came at her throat, and the offending Shinigami gave a loud cry of pain as a bubble of silver energy formed, his sword being bounced back and his wrist audibly snapping. When he went backwards, she fired another arrow, knocking him out too.

"Son of a bitch! We should just kill her!"

The other four came at her at once, all swinging for vital areas.

She dropped and swept her leg out, taking two to the ground with injured knees before firing another arrow into one of their chests.

With only one left standing, the lone Shinigami seeming terrified.

"Holy shit!"

"No kidding," she mused, standing back up. "I told you guys, I don't plan on being abducted."

Just then, another energy source appeared, heading for her fast.

Acting on instinct, she spun and brought up her released Shikai, blocking a sword strike for her spine. Attached to the offending sword was Renji Abarai, several feet back.

"Huh… So this is your Shikai?" she asked, holding off the extended sword with a desperate strength. If her block slipped, her side would be ripped open, and that would be bad for avoiding capture.

"I see ya' got yourself a sword," he mused. "That little toothpick's not gonna' hold off for long, Quincy."

A thrill went through her. They didn't know that she was a Shinigami. Only her family and Ichigo knew, and they wouldn't be telling any time soon. Which gave her a serious edge.

"Maybe so, but you forget I'm faster than you."

With that, she vanished via Hirenyaku, his sword going straight through and slamming hard into the last Shinigami, the first real injury since they'd come.

She came up behind Renji and fired several arrows as she moved, avoiding his rapid, snake-like slashes.

Avoiding the sword while attacking was quickly becoming hard, the blade's flexibility making him a nice shield against her arrows and nearly getting her sliced several times as she went. Finally, she moved out of his range after launching an arrow for his shoulder.

It hit his Zanpakuto and exploded, making his blade shatter and give him dozens of jagged cuts.

He stood tall, bleeding badly despite a stupid grin.

"Well, you ain't half bad, bitch. I guess I'm gonna' have to get rough on ya'!"

As he said it, the various pieces of his sword began to flare with bright, red energy, engulfing his body.

"_Ban-kai!"_

Light exploded, and from a massive cloud of dust came an even larger snake. It appeared to be made of bone, and a wild power was coursing throughout it. It came speeding at her like a train, a set of fangs each about half her size was all she saw as it rammed full-speed into her.

The weapon itself was terrifying to behold. And clearly they'd been holding out on her on the difference between the first and second form of a Zanpakuto.

Because of her distraction, she barely reacted fast enough to avoid being crushed, quickly taking to the air. It gave chase, and for several moments, it was a game of very close cat and mouse, Renji standing firm on the ground with a large bone handle in his hand from which the rest of the monstrosity stemmed.

Seeing it without the cloud of dust, she quickly realized that while imposing, it was nothing more impressive than a very large whip. Understanding that, she split her attention between the chasing monstrosity and Renji, watching his wrist movements as she evaded.

And then, things got worse. Because seven of the eight Shinigami had gotten back up and were coming after her. Cursing, she upped her speed, realizing how quickly she was losing ground.

With every dodge and evasion, she was losing more and more energy, and having to fight off swords while doing it was even worse. It only took about half a minute of the painful dance for Kagome to feel thoroughly exhausted, now sporting several dozen cuts and bruises from too-close calls.

And finally, the sheer number advantage got her.

From her sides came bursts of giant fireballs, while from her back came a large rope of energy that bound her in place. The fireballs hit and Kagome's world centered on pure agony, smoke quickly rising from her.

And finally, Renji's Bankai slammed into her and took her to the ground, pinning her and nearly making her black out. The nine moved to her as she writhed, every synapse burning and screaming.

"This bitch is a hell of a fighter," Renji mused. "Hey, we're going to Soul Society now. Got a problem? I didn't think so," he said, lifting her up.

Kagome's mouth moved, no sound coming, and Renji frowned, clearly not completely happy about the situation.

"Ichigo's gonna' be pissed, and that means he's going to be a pain in the ass soon as he figures this out," he sighed. "What're you sayin'?"

Kagome's eyes managed to open, and brilliant silver light crackled through them, the Shikon resonating through her entire body. And Urahara's bracelet was working like a charm, as they seemed completely oblivious.

"I said," she started slowly, "_fuck you_!"

With that, she let her building power out. Brilliant light came out from her body, and a massive explosion of pure, raw energy centered around her came.

When the dust settled, four of the Shinigami were bleeding profusely, Renji having dropped her and avoided it just fast enough to avoid substantial damage. And the other four were piles of ash on the ground in the crater her unconscious body now lay.

With a growl, Renji grabbed her limp body up, and a gateway formed…

A/N:

And there's the newest chapter! I hope you enjoyed Kagome kicking serious ass, because there's a lot more coming soon. See you next time!


	52. Chapter 51

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Abduction

Kagome came awake to a distinct lack of expected agony, considering how she'd fallen unconscious.

Feeling herself being moved along, her eyes came open, and she let out a small gasp.

She was bound tightly with some form of solid, strict material, her arms strung tightly together into her mid-back. The position was uncomfortable, but no more so than the crackling sensation that was moving over whatever was holding her captive.

She remembered vividly what had happened who-knew how long ago, and so was unsurprised to find herself being dragged along through the Soul Society by several pissed-looking Shinigami. What _did _surprise her was that she wasn't harmed nearly as much as she'd been after Renji's Bankai had pounded her into the ground after she'd been burned.

Which wasn't to say she was in a good state by any stretch, but she didn't smell ridiculous amounts of blood and burning skin, either.

The edge of a sword appeared just under her throat, a furious Renji attached to it.

"You try to get away, I take your head. Nod, _carefully_, if you understand."

She did as instructed, glaring at him.

"So, what? I'm gonna' be trapped in some hole for the rest of my life? You know that won't hold me long once everyone finds out you guys kidnapped me, right?"

He grimaced, clearly well aware of the fact already and not pleased over the thought.

"This is on you. _You_ resisted. You coulda' come without all the chaos, and ya' wouldn't be burned halfway to hell right now."

"Oh, sure," she mused. "Just go with the nice men who showed up telling me to come with them at sword-point. That's a _brilliant _strategy. Because clearly they only wanted to have a nice chat over tea," she sneered.

"You're a lot cockier than you should be," he responded. "I'm sure ya' figured it out already, but getting untied isn't going to happen on your own. So don't try something stupid."

She simply shrugged, the bend of her arms starting to get painful as they kept walking.

Finally, they came to a stop in front of the Captain's hall. And inside, the Captains were lined up along the walls, unanimously glaring at her.

"Kagome Higurashi, welcome back," Yamamoto stated, voice rumbling through the hall.

"With all due respect, getting beaten up in an eight-on-one fight's put me in a really bad mood, so can we get this over with?" she snapped, angrier the more she thought about it.

"You've been under observation in the short time since you left. We've deemed your powers too unstable, and you too weak to properly care for a relic as powerful as the Shikon no Tama. You'll release it to us, now," he stated, slamming his cane down with a resounding _thud_.

Kagome stood tall, ignoring the pain in her arms.

"I will? Well, since you're being so courteous, I guess I've got no choice. But you know, I wonder if you know where it even is."

Whatever was binding her tightened, and someone kicked at the back of her knees, knocking her to the floor.

A Shinigami appeared in front of him and his hand slid down her shirt. Before she could cry at the indignity, he pulled and brought the jewel out.

And as soon as it cleared her shirt, a massive flare of power flooded through her system. With a brilliant light, an explosion went off, the Shinigami making a very audible smashing noise as he went straight through the walls.

Another came at her, swinging his Zanpakuto at her throat, aiming for the chain holding up the Shikon.

As soon as the metal came into contact, another burst came and he, too, was thrown like a ragdoll.

"That's two. Want to try again? Maybe if you keep going, the barrier the Shikon's raised will wear out before you run out of resources," Kagome mused, standing up.

"You find this amusing?" Hitsuguya growled, gripping his hilt.

"Only in that you guys think that you can take the Shikon from me. There are three people who can handle the jewel with this much strength without going insane. Two of them are insane already, and the other's me. It's not because I like this damned jewel that I guard it; it's that people who want it for greed will always create problems that I have to solve in the long run, anyways."

"You've certainly got a lot of self-confidence, if not too much intelligence to go with it," a mountain of a man with an animal's head mused.

"Even if I'm full of myself, I've still got the jewel around my neck," she quipped.

"Perhaps," a man with long, snow-white hair stated, glaring thoughtfully at her. "Out of scientific curiosity, why do you think the jewel is the one raising the barrier, and not yourself?"

"Does that really matter?" a woman growled, her hair hanging in two tight braids down her back.

"The jewel has a soul of its own. And while in my care, I guess that soul's become attuned to protect itself. And I promise you that I'll shatter it and scatter it across the worlds before I let someone who plans to use it for its power get their hands on it."

"So the jewel's attached to your soul, which makes it untouchable… Well, that's a simple fix," Kurotsuchi stated, his albino face cracking with a large, bone-chilling smile full of teeth.

"Simple? She's got a valid point in that we'll be taking a long time if we try to break her defenses down," another man stated, this one in a bright pink kimono.

"Ah, that's true. But we can fix it. If the soul is destroyed, the jewel will no longer have any attachment. Quincy souls aren't useful to my research, anyways, even if it is a very bizarre one."

Kagome's blood turned to ice, her eyes wide.

"Hmm… Yes, that could work," Yamamoto mused. "Very well. Kagome Higurashi, you are hereby sentenced to execution by the Sokyoku, which will completely obliterate all traces of your soul. Preparations should be finished by the end of the day. Unless you'll give up the jewel now?" he asked hopefully.

She stood tall, fighting tears as she glared at him.

"I guess we'll see if you kill me before I figure out a way to make things not go as you plan," she stated defiantly before being led off…

A/N:

Not much to say on this one, other than that I hope you enjoyed and will give your thoughts!


	53. Chapter 52

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language

Imprisonment

Kagome sat back, the cold stone of her cell leeching away any warmth left in her.

After her bold statement, she hadn't been sure what was going to happen. Maybe she'd been expecting Ichigo to show up just as she'd finished and save her.

What _had _happened had been getting dragged off by a Shinigami and thrown into this small hole in the wall.

And, even better, it was constructed with the same material as her bracelet, seriously limiting what she could do if someone came before her execution.

She was positive that the burst of energy she'd let out before she'd been spirited away, along with the Shinigami's energies, would have at least Ichigo and Uryuu running, if not the others. The question was whether they would get there while she was still a person.

Depressed, she laid flat on the floor, the small crackle of energy from all of her various spiritually charged items giving her little comfort. With every minute closer to her execution, the Shikon seemed to grow colder against her chest, becoming a painful throb against her skin.

Footsteps sounded, and Kagome sat up to find Kurotsuchi standing outside her cell, sneering that horrifying, blood curdling mockery of a Cheshire smile.

"Hello, again, Quincy. Enjoying your inner torments?"

"Can't complain. Nobody's here to bother me while I think of how I'm going to get out of here and back to my son. I think he's probably getting hungry around now. Though I could be off a bit, what with the unconsciousness and all," she mused, the picture of nonchalance.

"Ah, yes, the fox. Then, a question. If I have you released, with the Shikon, would you be a willing participant in my experiments? Food, water, basic facilities, and mild anesthetics. Not a bad deal by any means."

A creeping feeling began to grow through Kagome, her eyes narrowing.

"What's your name?"

"Mayuri Kurotsuchi," he stated, frowning and glaring at her as though she were an idiot. "What's your answer?"

"You slaughtered a whole race of people just because you were curious," she stated, venom in her tone.

"Well, if we're being technical, the Hollows were the ones who did the slaughtering. All I did was give them their best chances and collect many samples," he stated. "And I learned _so _much, too!"

"I'll bet you did," she muttered.

"Tell me, can you do what your cousin can? There are various high-level techniques that I was never able to observe before him, and he's unwilling to demonstrate."

"If you're asking if I can kill you, I don't know, but I wouldn't mind finding out."

"I see… Sadly, you can do very little in that cell."

"Hence why I'm not bothering to get up. Cowards won't fight fair, so why should I bother getting worked up?"

"Entertaining. So, are you declining my generous offer?" he sneered.

"Go fuck yourself."

Frowning, his arm lifted, a dagger-like nail pointing at her through the bars of her cell. A blue glow began to form, and Kagome's hair began to stand on end.

"Raikoho."

A barrier instantly flared to life around her body, but the cell prevented a lot of her power, making it weak to the attack.

A blast of lightning arced from his fingertip, slamming into her as though she'd just jumped into a live generator. The smell of burning flesh and smoke quickly filled her senses, the blast pinning her to the wall.

She let out a scream as the electricity began to melt the stone around her, the lava-like substance quickly scorching her.

The current cut off, and she fell limply to the ground, twitching and shaking.

"It's a shame such a resilient body will be destroyed," Kurotsuchi laughed, the sound echoing. "Though I was holding back quite a bit."

As he left, she writhed on the cold floor, bringing her miko powers up through her. Luckily, the absorption of the cell did nothing for internal energy, and her injuries vanished almost as fast as they appeared.

But as painful as it had been, he'd clearly been pulling his punch, even while assuming that it wasn't that much of a step above her. Which was clearly wrong, since while it wasn't anywhere near pleasant, it hadn't been too hard to fix.

Seeing the perfectly unmarred bracelet on her wrist, she understood why. It was working a lot better than she'd thought.

And as she sat up, she registered the weight of two heated, silver tubes in her socks, both practically vibrating from the energy they'd absorbed from the attack; another reason why she wasn't dead.

A/N:

I hope you enjoyed! See you next time!


	54. Chapter 53

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Execution

Kagome stared at the massive halberd that was held vertical on the Cliffside, a dangerous energy roiling wildly through it.

She was still trying to think of a way out of this. Several hours in her cell had yielded her a vague strategy if her friends didn't appear, but that plan had been very complicated when, upon arrival to the execution grounds, the Shinigami had proceeded to use incredibly powerful spells that had sealed all of her movements beyond breathing and blinking.

And then, her attention was distracted from her impending death when a miracle happened; something shifted in the air, and familiar energy quickly reached her senses.

Seconds later, three new people were there, the Shinigami quickly moving to keep Ichigo, Uryuu, and Urahara from reaching her.

"Oi, you bastards! What the hell is this!" Ichigo snarled.

"Kagome Higurashi's soul will be destroyed to release the Shikon no Tama," Yamamoto stated, staring uninterestedly at the intruders.

In response, Ichigo lifted his Zanpakuto, sneering.

"Yeah? Not if I can help it."

A massive wave of darkness began to rise from his blade, and several Shinigami released their own swords in preparation.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

With a swing of his blade, an arc of swirling black and red flying at the halberd.

It wasn't nearly strong enough to break something giving off the energy that the weapon was showing, and even if it were, those Shinigami between the two were going to make it weaker.

Renji suddenly appeared in front of the attack and slammed it away with his Zanpakuto like a baseball. And it went off course, careening straight into a helpless Kagome.

But luckily, whatever they'd made that was holding her took nearly all of the force, the bonds visibly weakening.

And even more luckily, it appeared that she'd been hurt, which meant she was now almost mobile even if they weren't aware of it.

"Hold them off," Yamamoto barked.

Urahara began to fight against the innumerable Shinigami that moved to hold the three off, doing amazingly well considering he was fighting swords with a cane.

While they were pushed back, Uryuu and Ichigo holding back considerably less than the store owner, Yamamoto began preparing, the energy in the halberd quickly growing stronger.

"Do you have any final requests, before your execution?" the old man asked, glaring at her.

"Yes, I do," she stated, slowly building her powers.

"Then I will hear it now."

"I humbly ask you to not underestimate me," she stated, standing tall despite the heavy bindings.

"You can do very little, as you are," he stated, clearly amused.

"I'm far less weak than you all are assuming," she growled.

With that, her arms moved, and her bindings gave with a snap of energy, Ichigo's attack having made them breakable.

"You people are all idiots. You instantly try to destroy whatever you don't trust, and made me go from not trusting you to being completely against you. You have no problem killing me in order to gain power. And you underestimated me."

With that, she reached up and pulled Urahara's bracelet off. As soon as it cleared her skin, things changed drastically.

The ground shook as power exploded into the air, Kagome's body flooding with silver light. What remained of her seals were completely obliterated, and the Shinigami watched as her entire body began giving off sparks of silver energy.

Clearly, Urahara hadn't explained the bracelet in detail. This was well beyond hiding her energy; it had been suppressing it.

"Release the Kikoo!"

A loud, piercing cry filled the air as the halberd flared to life, seconds before a massive phoenix came to life. And then, it was heading for Kagome, vibrating with death and power.

Kagome knelt down, coming up with another trick from her hat…er, shoes.

"Tilt the goblet to the west-_Emerald Grail_!"

She threw one of the tubes right into the beast's maw, its body giving a burst as it went off. The other tube was flicked forward, the ground beneath it exploding straight into its body in a hail of earthen shrapnel.

And then, she gave the final surprise.

"I think you should thank Kurotsuchi for this," she stated.

Her hands came up and the silver energy sparking around her began to focus in her palms. Her entire body felt a thrill as she build up the energy. And then, the phoenix began to move again, and she brought it out with all the surprising anger she'd gained over the course of the last several hours.

"_Raikoho_!"

The electricity shot out at the lumbering beast. And they met with a massive, ground-shaking explosion, the result of which was a massive pile of ash scattering in the wind, a large crater full of smoke, and the halberd snapped into dozens of burning pieces.

Before the Shinigami could react, she used Hirenyaku and was at her cousin and boyfriend's sides, her body still flaring with all the energy rushing through her and the bracelet glowing in her hand.

"If you _ever _try to take the Shikon no Tama for your greedy purposes, remember this, right now. Because next time I'll start at my best," she yelled, voice echoing through the cliffside. "I'm going to kill Naraku, and end the Shikon's existence, after which point I'll figure out what I want to do. So we're clear, this is my official warning not to piss me off."

And apparently, the display had been more than enough of a point, not a single Shinigami making a move to stop them or willing to test whether she was bluffing as the four began to leave…

A/N:

So yeah, Kagome's a badass. Hope you enjoyed it! See you next time!


	55. Chapter 54

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Bait

Kagome hadn't made it more then a few steps when a Shinigami clad in ninja gear appeared, moving with a sense of urgency and fear that had Kagome's senses spiking.

"Head Captain Yamamoto, we've received terrible news. Aizen's on the move."

"What move?" the old man asked, now much less interested in the miko.

"A strange man with black hair followed by two people with bizarre energies have appeared in Hueco Mundo, heading for Los Noches. It appears that they have a powerful object with them, and we believe that nothing good can come from the meeting."

Kagome's blood turned to ice, slipping her bracelet back on to seal her energy. She was positive she'd be needing as much as possible in the near future.

She turned, staring at the Captains.

"Well, what an interesting turn of events. That guy you're talking about is Naraku. The second person capable of handling the Shikon no Tama, one of the people with him being the third."

"You know who they are?" the female with the braids asked, glaring suspiciously at her.

"You can say that. How do I get to that place you're talking about?"

"You just threatened to kill us all after we tried to _execute _you, and yet you want help?" Hitsuguya sneered.

"I don't care about your help. I don't know much about Aizen, but I know Naraku. He'll have an army of demons waiting to pick off anyone that follows him. And I gather Aizen's the same. But think about this. You guys just got your ass kicked by _me_; you think not one, but _two _armies is going to be feasible?"

"She's got a point," the Captain with white hair mused.

"Let's head back," Urahara stated. "I can open a portal back in my shop."

"Hell yeah. I can use a good brawl right now," Ichigo laughed.

Kagome ignored them, her rage now gone and her head working clearly.

"There's a problem with that. I know Naraku, but very little about Aizen. I can only guess what he's going to do. Also, if we know they're there, it's a trap. Naraku doesn't get careless unless it's intentional. And if he's going there, it's most likely to absorb Aizen, which would be bad for everyone."

"Absorb? What is he?" the white-haired Captain asked.

"A hanyo, who is made of hundreds of demons. He absorbs people who will make him stronger. But if Aizen's as strong as he sounds, he can't be absorbed, and that means that it's likely one will die in the end, giving the other their powerful object. Which would mean slaughter for everyone."

"What makes you think yourself so much more capable than us?" Yamamoto growled.

"I don't. But I know Naraku's strategy, and if he can't subjugate Aizen, he _will _absorb him, and probably a good number of Hollows, and maybe even Espada. Which will be worse than bad. Also, there's the matter of him having the other half of the Shikon no Tama. Naraku's a bastard, but he's close to my own strength, which as pointed out previously, just took down your best weapon while you did nothing but cower."

Yamamoto frowned, face scrunching in deep thought for several moments.

"Very well," he finally stated, the sound like a gunshot. "What do you have in mind? Speak quickly, miko."

"Two teams. Distraction and destruction. While one takes care of keeping their attention, the other team goes into wherever the enemy's based and focuses on taking down either Aizen or Naraku, with Naraku being the more immediately dangerous of the two due to strategies and countless ways to attack and make you dead. Sound good?"

Apparently, she'd made some kind of impression with the quick assessment, because the Shinigami that had been looking ready to slice her throat eased slightly, now focused on the bigger threat.

"Captain Ukitake, what do you think?"

"A sound strategy," the white-haired Shinigami stated. "I advise putting the teams together immediately, though there should also be teams to defend Soul Society and Karakura Town, in case this is one of Aizen's plans."

"Well now, things have gotten interesting," Urahara mused, suddenly reminding them that the other three were there.

"We'll need to send out the main forces immediately," Yamamoto stated.

"Captains Soi Fon and Kuchiki, Lieutenant Abarai, will be the infiltration and destruction team members. Two Captains should be enough to keep Miss Higurashi on a leash."

"And of course, we three will also be on that team," Urahara added.

"Very well," Yamamoto stated, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You all will prepare, and be ready to move out in one hour."

"Well then, we'll meet you all there," Urahara said, this time no stopping as they left Soul Society…

A/N:

And more developments! Hope you enjoyed!


	56. Chapter 55

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Preparation

When the group came through a huge gateway, Urahara gave a sigh of relief.

"You know how to keep things interesting, Kagome, for sure," he laughed.

"No kidding. Hey, how'd you let those bastards grab you!" Uryuu hissed. "You could've taken Abarai easily, with all the time I've spent teaching you."

Kagome was keeping every bit of energy she would need, up to and including emotions at the moment, but it didn't mean her cousin's indirect mockery didn't annoy her.

"Like hell! I was training when they showed up in the first place, and there were eight of them _not _including Renji! Even still, I was doing just fine till that damn Bankai came at me from one side while the other eight came from another side," she grumbled.

"He used his Bankai on you?" Ichigo asked, eyes narrowed.

"Yeah. Which reminds me," she said, turning on him and walking backwards as they went, "you guys failed to mention that the difference between the two is like a canyon."

"I'm definitely kicking that bastard's ass as soon as we get to the desert," Ichigo growled.

"As for Bankai, it's not something I expected you to be experiencing any time soon," Urahara sighed, scratching irately at his hair. "But that was quite an impressive show you put on. And all without your Zanpakuto, though now they know something is strange, as you used a Shinigami spell to kill the halberd."

"Oh, yeah, that brings up another point. You didn't tell me what this bracelet actually does," she stated, glaring at him with her arm raised.

"What's that?" Ichigo and Uryuu both asked, now glaring heatedly at him. "What'd you give her?"

"Now, now," he said, waving them off. "If I'd told you it was actually going to be sealing ninety percent of whatever power you had, would you have put it on?"

"Well… probably not," she admitted.

"Right. And it wasn't doing you any harm. In fact, all that energy you suddenly have now, it was sealed in the bracelet. The soul synthesized silver was collecting it all, so when you took it off and needed it, you'd get triple, if not more, the amount of energy you'd have gotten just training."

"Okay, but you could've still told me," she said with a pout.

"Yeah, but where would the fun be in that?"

"And if I'd taken it off to shower?"

"Ah… that would've been unfortunate," he laughed. "I'd imagine the Shinigami showing up while you were naked would've made things awkward."

"Bastard," Uryuu growled.

"Regardless of this all, before we go to war, I need to find Shippo. Maybe I should leave him at mom's until we get back. If there's something worse than getting innocent people involved, it'd be putting him in danger after he's finally in a peaceful place."

"To be fair, I doubt you could involve him in anything he didn't want to do," a voice said, catching their attention.

They all came to a halt as a large shadow enveloped them. The shadow wasn't what stopped them, though, but the man attached to it.

Ryuken stood with the sun at his back, wearing a glare and a deep frown… and Shippo was on his shoulder wearing a similar expression.

"He showed up at the hospital talking about how you disappeared," Ryuken stated. "I figured the Shinigami had something to do with it, but I was sure you'd show up sooner or later. So what's this about a war?"

"Naraku's on the move," Shippo guessed.

"Yeah, that's how it is," Urahara sighed. "So you're the famed Ryuken Ishida?"

"And you must be the idiot Shinigami that runs that beaten down shop Isshin's mentioned," the Quincy returned.

"Mama, are you going to fight Naraku?" Shippo asked, having moved to her side while the others were distracted.

She knelt down, smiling a sad smile.

"Yes. Hopefully by the end of today, it'll all be over, and we can have a peaceful living. Well, as peaceful as can be with Hollows roaming around, anyway."

He leaned forward, glaring heatedly at her.

"Are you going to come back?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" she asked, blinking in confusion.

"You promise? Everyone else didn't come back from that last time."

"Oi, brat, she ain't gonna' go dying that easily. She's too stubborn," Ichigo laughed.

"That's true. And she'll have amazing backup, as well," Urahara added, grinning.

"Uh… yeah, what they said," Kagome said, ruffling his hair.

"Then it's a promise. In the time you're gone, I'll take care of him," Ryuken stated.

Uryuu made a choking sound at that, his eyes wide.

"You sure? You have a hospital to run, and he's kind of adventurous," she stated, standing up.

"It'll be fine. I _am _incredible, you know," he stated with a smirk.

"This is all nice, but we need to get going," Urahara stated.

"Alright. Shippo, when we get back, how about we go out for some ice cream?"

"It's a promise!" he yelled, climbing back onto her uncle's shoulder.

With that, they were off, heading for the shop once again.

"Once we get to my shop, I'll open a portal. I already sent word for Yoruichi to join us, and the others'll probably be on their way as well," Urahara said.

"Hang on. I didn't even want to involve you guys in this stuff with Naraku. I don't want more people getting hurt because I couldn't kill the bastard before."

"If Naraku's as bad as you describe, as well as what I've heard, then you need as much help as you can get. Especially if he's joining Aizen. You can handle Naraku, as long as the foot soldiers don't wear you down, I'm sure, but Aizen's got an army as well, as you said. Just the eight of us won't be enough, probably."

"There's one more, actually," Kagome said, reaching up and gripping her earring.

"Your earring can fight, too?" Ichigo laughed.

She felt a small spark of energy growing in her hand, which then zapped the earring. A jolt slid through her body, and she gave a jerk. Her ear felt like it had been lit on fire, the bead feeling like lava on her lobe.

"What the hell was that? Looked like it hurt," Uryuu quipped.

Her response was cut off as the air shifted. Slowly, a current of wind began to take form just to her side, which quickly grew and rose into the sky. The funnel lasted seconds, and then Kagura was there, floating high in the air on her feather.

The three others instantly went on guard, Ichigo grabbing his Zanpakuto and Uryuu bringing his bow into existence.

Before they could do anything, a barrier flickered into existence around the wind witch, and Kagome glared up at her.

"You didn't tell me it'd hurt like that," the miko sighed, watching Kagura float down.

"Why bother? If you'd used it frivolously, it would have taught you a lesson, and if not, you only experience it once."

Kagome frowned, the same logic used twice in such a short time giving her a headache.

"Whatever. We're going to kill Naraku. Guys, this is Kagura, you've already met. Let's get going," she sighed, clearly in a bad mood.

They made their way to Urahara's shop then, no more stops between them and the coming fight…

A/N:

And so, the action begins now! Hope you enjoyed!


	57. Chapter 56

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Infiltration

They touched down on an arid desert, Shinigami somewhere nearby.

The sand reminded Kagome of dirty glass, with a strange, almost deathly pallor of a white color.

"So this is the demon's domain, huh? I'm not impressed," Kagura quipped, staring disdainfully at the dead landscape around them from behind her fan.

An explosion nearby cut off Kagome's response, and they turned as one towards an odd scene.

A lanky woman, only slightly darker than the sand, stood tall with a massive black scythe in her hand. Youki whipped the sand around her in a funnel, seeming to move to some unknown rhythm, everything about her screaming Naraku. She even looked like Kikyo, with hip-length inky black hair and a black and red version of the priestess's miko robes.

In front of her was a horde of Hollows, none of them particularly strong but the weakness made up by sheer numbers.

Apparently, that didn't matter to the woman, though, as with swipe after swipe, her scythe and energy tore through the monsters, piles of ashes collecting in the vortex around her. And a cruel, mocking laughter coming from her filled the air the entire time.

"Come now, you fake demons! At least make this a challenge!"

The Hollows stopped advancing and gave one long, collective shriek, which amused the woman. Until a surge of power followed the cry, and some mass came crashing into the desert floor, kicking up waves of sand.

When the dust cleared, a man stood tall in a body-length white robe. He was as dark as the sand was light, light seeming to be absorbed around him. A pair of sharp, red eyes locked on the woman, the remnants of a Hollow mask in the form of a Cheshire smile splitting his face. His left palm was broken by a large hole, and at his sword was a sheathed Zanpakuto.

"You're having fun. Mind if I join in?" he snarled, voice a deep, rumbling growl.

"Ah, did I hurt your friends?" she sneered.

"Friends? Hell no."

As if to prove a point, he pointed behind him and a Cero launched, burning through a dozen of the Hollows in a matter of seconds.

"But I love a good fight," he continued nonchalantly. "So let's go!"

"Hmmm… How 'bout you take care of them, and I'll think about playing?" she asked, pointing at Kagome's group with a bored expression.

He only then seemed to recognize their existence, and turned, a hard glare forming.

"Well, it seems there are a lot of unwanted guests today. Humans, it's your lucky day. I'm not in a merciful, patient mood. I'll deal with you in a minute," he added to the woman before stalking towards them.

He only made it two steps before an arrow launched, making him move faster than he should've had to to dodge.

The youkai took interest then, a smirk forming and her grip on the scythe tightening. She took off, heading for Uryuu, who was at the ready with another arrow.

Kagome sighed, glaring at her cousin.

"Was that necessary?"

"No, but we can't be wasting time playing."

With a shrug, she pointed at them, her own bow forming. Her arrow was a fraction of a second faster, putting the youkai through her paces as she advanced while dodging.

"You'd best back down, little miko," the youkai mocked, feinting indifference to the rapid burning of her energy to avoid the barrage of arrows.

"Funny. I was about to say the same thing, now that I can kill Naraku's abominations."

With that, she stopped her barrage and took aim, releasing an arrow into the youkai's path. It connected and with a small explosion of light, sent her hurtling through the sand, a hole bleeding from her shoulder.

She came up with a hiss, black, inky blood coiling down her arm from the hole. With a burst of energy, she took off towards Kagome.

Her scythe came down at the miko's skull, a wave of heat rising in the air around her attack.

Ichigo began to block with his own sword, but Kagome beat him to it, a blast of energy knocking the youkai back through the air. She landed running, coming right back, and as she moved, the other Hollows took notice.

They began crowding around the group, Uryuu's arrows now clearing them away.

The youkai's scythe connected with Kagome's bow, the energy vibrating around them.

"Naraku doesn't make them like he used to, does he?"

The youkai snarled, steam beginning to rise from her scythe.

"Can we move this along?" Uryuu sighed.

Kagome released an arrow, making the scythe give a loud creak from the impact and knocking the youkai back. Before she could react, another arrow fired, this one placed straight into the center of her skull, the arrow glowing silver.

Without the time to even scream, the youkai broke down, ash flying into the air where she'd stood.

It was then that Kagome noticed that the Arrancar wasn't standing on the sidelines anymore. But he didn't pull off his attack well, Kagura's fan and youki coming up to stop his ambush.

"Well, this is boring," she quipped. "I say we get moving before we're even more noticed."

The others nodded, moving through the Hollows while the Arrancar kept coming at them from all sides, Cero after Cero launching at them.

As they moved, the desert began to rumble, and youki became palpable in the air.

"Not going to be boring anymore," Kagome mused.

And as if to prove the point, the desert came alive, Hollows rising from the desert sand…

A/N:

Sorry it's been so long. Had to get ready for college, and was working on my novel. Still, I hope you enjoyed!


	58. Chapter 57

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Violence

Demons

The monsters continued to rise, Arrancar and Hollows seeming to form from the sand itself. Millions of them came between their group and the castle in the distance, youki continuing to flood the air to the point that it became palpable.

It was then that Shinigami decided to show up, taking down the Hollows with apparent ease. Renji appeared at their side, glaring.

"Do you even know what stealth _is_!" he growled.

"Naraku would know we're here anyways, thanks to the Shikon. We need a path," Kagome responded, glaring right back at him.

"Yeah, no kidding. We only just left. Those other bastards should be here before us. Howl, Zabimaru!"

His sword transformed, and shot out from his hand, halving an entire row of the Hollows and Arrancar without slowing.

"Well, you should've just said so if stealth wasn't an issue," Kagura quipped, smacking away another Cero.

As the attack dissipated, the wind sorceress swept her fan, her own youki greatly overpowering that of the Hollows. Kagome knew what was going to happen, and a barrier slammed into place around her and warning the other Shinigami to move away, sand kicking up in funnels around Kagura.

"Dance of the Dragon!"

The funnels were hit with youki from her fan, and began spinning fast enough to produce a grinding sound. The funnels then moved outwards, slicing through the monsters in droves. Blood rained from the air, Hollows breaking apart in the winds faster than they came up.

"What the hell is that!"

"You wanted a path. I'd say you got one," Kagura mused, smirking at Renji.

Kagome's barrier dropped, and they began to move, going as fast as they could. The castle rapidly got closer, Hollows screaming behind them as they went.

More began to form between them and the castle, moving through the sand as though made of the desert itself, their numbers once again growing.

"This is going to get bad if we waste our time on these useless hordes," the woman with ponytails, Soi Fon, stated with a frown.

"And I don't want that wind shit goin' around, either," Renji added, glaring at Kagura.

"Scared, Abarai?" Yoruichi mocked, staring at the growing Hollows.

"Kagura, how many more of those can you do?"

"As many as I need to. But it's not pleasant. The air here's dead and stagnant, and hard to work with. Reminds me of that bastard's castles," she growled from behind her fan.

"Who the hell is she?" Renji asked.

"Alright… I want to hold as much of my power under their radars for as long as I can. Uryuu?"

"I don't know if even I've got enough energy to constantly fire for as long as it would take to get into that damned castle."

"I could probably take them down, with the lovely Yoruichi's help, of course, but I don't think it'll matter. They're coming back."

"Either they're made from sand, or someone's stealing my tricks, and since they bleed, the first one isn't likely," Kagura added, glaring at them.

"Let's just get this over with," Soi Fon growled. "Jinteki Shakusetsu, _Suzumebachi_!"

Her blade ignited in light, and when it dimmed, her right arm was covered in a hornet-colored gauntlet, a long, stinger-like extension covering her middle finger.

She took off in a burst of speed, Hollows disintegrating left and right in butterfly-shaped explosions. The numbers began to drastically drop, Hollows breaking apart in blood and ash as the captain moved.

Soi Fon then landed in front of the group, the stinger now coated red and energy pouring from her arm.

"Once you've been stung twice with Nigeki Kessatsu, there is no survival. We should move."

"I'll keep that in mind. But it won't work here," Kagome responded, nodding at the already replaced Hollows.

"This isn't even like that big bastard. Think he's found a new way to pop up?" Ichigo asked, looking at Uryuu.

"Hell if I know. They're not doing anything but being annoying. Looks like their sole purpose is to keep us outside."

"Can we get through them?" Yoruichi asked.

"One way to find out," Byakuya sighed, raising his sword. "You'd best put up another barrier, miko. Chire, _Senbonzakura_!"

His sword broke from the hilt, a massive cloud of what looked like flower petals taking form from the metal. With a flick of his wrist, the petals went forward, and the Hollows were once again picked to pieces.

While they were being ripped to pieces by the petal-like blades, their group moved forward. Even with the incredible amounts of blades he was using, the Hollows were still coming faster, getting Kagome's ire up.

"They're still not done, and I don't think we're going to get through this all without wasting energy," the miko sighed.

Her gaze got pulled away, then, two familiar energies catching her full attention.

"Oh, this could be interesting."

Before they could ask what she was talking about, an explosion of youki went off, the desert rising in waves at the impact of whatever held the energy. A massive, silver vortex rose, quickly being colored by blood and sand, youki sparking across the landscape from the form.

"Are you doing that!" Renji growled at Kagura, who appeared surprised and had a confusing expression on her face.

"She's not."

A barrier took form, covering them from a massive wave of the Hollows' and Arrancar's remains, the meat and blood turning to steam on contact with it.

The vortex cut off, bodies turning to ash as they fell from the sky. The bodies that remained intact landed in a pile, their blood turning the sand an ugly shade of gray. And on top of the pile stood a man, silver hair hanging to his nape and red eyes staring disdainfully down at them.

He was thin, but a tight black suit showed serious muscles, his pale skin mixing well with the darkness of the clothes. At his side were two swords, both humming with energy.

The Shinigami began to build their own energies, ready to fight as soon as the new threat moved. Kagome wasn't so defensive.

"Didn't think I'd be seeing you again."

He stuck his hands into his pockets and hopped down from the bodies, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Surely you don't think one such as I would lie down like a mere dog and die over time."

"Evidently not. And can I assume you're here for Naraku?"

"I was in the forest of those filthy Hollows when I heard about him being around now. Naturally, I couldn't pass up the opportunity. But we should talk after you've gotten the source of these foul creatures, yes?"

Kagome nodded, taking off in a burst of speed that surprised her group.

She came to a stop in front of a circle of solid ground, dark energy radiating from the spot. And on top of the Shikon no Tama shard was a youkai, an ax hanging from his shoulder and a barrier of miasma wrapping around him.

"So, Naraku spent all his time making you able to hide that, I take it?" Kagome asked, her bow forming.

The youkai smirked, revealing a row of shark-like fangs. The miasma gathered around the ax, fully releasing the dark shard's energy to her senses.

"I'm impressed you sensed me, witch," he laughed, voice metallic and echoing.

"Yeah, well, luckily all those Hollows that were keeping me distracted just died."

With that, she fired an arrow, forcing the youkai back. Before he could return, she moved, dragging the shard up from the hole she'd created.

Instantly, the inky darkness left it, and the Hollows in the distance vanished, their energies completely gone.

"An army of Hollows made out of sand and dead things buried in the desert, brought up by the Shikon, and protected by an aura of miasma that syncs with the energy in this hellhole. Nice plan, in theory."

With that, she fired another arrow, burning through the youkai in a matter of seconds before returning to her group.

"Now then, want to explain how you're… alive? And you look barely older than last time, too," she said, staring at Sesshomaru.

"More importantly, who the hell are you?" Renji growled.

"He just gave me the distraction I needed to get the source of those monsters, for starters," Kagome responded, raising the shard up for view. "No more Hollows."

"As for your question, my name is Sesshomaru. I'm a youkai, which is what these pathetic beasts try to be. And I'm here for Naraku's head, which seems to put me on your side, Shinigami."

"A youkai? Why are there not one, but two of you bastards still around!" Soi Fon snarled.

"There are still plenty around. We've gotten very good at disguising ourselves over the centuries. Oh, and you'll be happy to know Rin still lives," he added to Kagome, who looked awed.

"Really?"

"Yes. We were hoping you might be able to explain that, actually. But we should walk while talking."

With that, they took off for the castle, no more Hollows being around to stop them. As they went, the others stared suspiciously at the inu taiyoukai, who seemed unaffected.

"When you healed her, she began to age slower than a human should. She looks about twenty, now, despite being close to five hundred."

"Hmmm… Well, that sounds like I did it, alright… It's possible that the reason behind the Tenseiga only working once is that death will come to fear what escapes it more than one time. Maybe she's immortal, or something like it…"

"You can do that?" Ichigo asked, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Evidently. I suppose introductions are in order," she sighed.

His eyes narrowed, ears flicking and nostrils flaring.

"Perhaps later."

Kagome sensed it, then, too, and spun, her bow coming to life to shield her from a mass of energy.

When the dust cleared, she found herself pushed back by a decent distance from the impact, a sword pressing towards her skull from behind the bow.

And holding the sword was Inuyasha, eyes blood red and body giving off sparks of youki…

A/N:

Jinteki Shakusetsu- Sting All Enemies to Death

Suzumebachi- hornet

Nigeki Kessatsu- Death in Two Steps (I like how literal it is)

Chire- Scatter

Senbonzakura- Thousand Cherry Blossoms

Inu- dog

Taiyoukai- great demon

I liked the idea of youkai surviving into the present day, and wanted the reveal to be badass. Hope it worked that way. Also hope you enjoyed, and as always will leave comments, be they positive or not. See you next time!


	59. Chapter 58

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Violence, gore, language

Rage

Kagome gave a push, knocking Inuyasha and the Tetsusaiga back as she did.

"It seems Naraku left his dog out," Sesshomaru mused, grabbing at one of the blades at his side.

"Yeah, looks that way. You guys get going. I'll catch up in a minute," Kagome sighed, grabbing her necklace.

As soon as she grabbed it, a katana took form, her power rising.

"You sure?" Ichigo asked, glaring at Inuyasha.

"Yeah. No need to waste actual energy. Oh, and I don't have to tell you not to step in, do I?" she asked, looking at Sesshomaru.

"I'm not so foolish. I like having my arm on my body," he said, seeming amused.

"Tch. I'm not going anywhere. I want to watch this. Just don't waste time," Kagura sighed, standing firm.

Inuyasha swept his blade at Kagome's head, more than enough force to cleave her in half if not for the fact that she moved too fast.

Her sword came up, energy making the metal strong enough to withstand the heavy blade of the Tetsusaiga.

As soon as he reached back to try again, Kagome spun under the hanyo's newest strike, slashing straight at his ribs. Apparently, whatever was forcing his transformation didn't slow his reactions at all, because he dove backwards in a flip, snarling and hissing when he landed.

"I know you're in there, somewhere. Somehow. And that you're not too stupid to talk. So spill it. Why're you fighting for Naraku, who until recently you were going to kill?" she hissed, eyes flaring with silver sparks.

Inuyasha gave a sneer, fangs revealing themselves. When he did talk, Kagome found herself more surprised than she should've been, though it was only a rough, metallic, cold approximation of his voice.

"Yeah, what of it, bitch? This is all your fault," he hissed.

Pressing off the ground, he launched at her with the intent to cut her in half. She reacted quickly, her Zanpakuto vibrating from the impact as she sent a counter-swing.

The ground gave way under the weight of their strikes, sparks flying from the blades.

"How's it my fault that you followed that animated corpse into Naraku's grip?"

With a snarl, he pressed forward, knocking her back as he charged with the Tetsusaiga.

Kagome dove, energy bursting from her legs to push her out of the strike. When the blade touched down, sand exploded upwards in waves, the ground shaking from the impact.

"After we thought you died, Kikyo decided that fighting Naraku upfront would only get us killed. So I'll play this game, until she gets that damned jewel from him, and then we'll be together for good."

"You've dropped farther than I thought you ever could," Sesshomaru mused.

"Yer one ta talk, bastard," the hanyo snarled back, eyes not leaving the miko. "Least I've got a point doin' what I am. And killing you for startin' all this shit will feel real good."

Ichigo began to step forward, before Kagome's energy came alive, her anger physically present in the air.

"That's your justification for trying to kill my family?" she snarled, energy rising around her in crackling silver flames.

Before he could reply, she lunged, her blade smacking into his with a resounding screech. When his arms were thrown backwards, she landed and spun, the blade coming up and burying into his stomach.

He hunched over, grabbing for the sword too late to stop her as she dragged it out, blood flowing rapidly.

"That's one for my mom. This is for Souta."

She moved again, her blade going through his left leg this time and dropping him. As he fell, he let out a howl of pain, more blood turning his robes darker.

Kagome spun, her blade coming to a stop an inch from his throat.

"And I should cut your head off for my grandfather. But that'd be too quick."

She brought the blade up and, flipping it, buried it straight downwards into his shoulder, his arm starting to separate before she withdrew it.

Silver flames rose from the wounds, his body starting to ignite in purifying energy.

"You weren't a coward before. It's sad to see what that bitch can do. But don't worry, she'll be returning to whatever afterlife she's meant to be in, soon, when I purify her and purge all the hate that her very renewed existence means. Oh, and I'll be taking this."

She knelt down, grabbing the Tetsusaiga from his grip. Her foot shot out then, kicking his head and knocking him unconscious in his agony.

With that, she turned and left him, the Tetsusaiga shrinking back into a normal-sized katana.

"Well, that was a display," Kagura mused.

"You want this?" the miko asked Sesshomaru, ignoring the sorceress.

"I want nothing to do with that filth's touch. He's tainted father's legacy, so the sword is useless to me. Do what you want with it."

Nodding, Kagome stuck the blade into the sand before kicking, energy sparking and making the sword turn to ash on impact.

"Let's get going."

"It seems that your stay with the Shinigami's done wonders for your fighting style," Urahara quipped.

"Whatever. I think they're going to be pulling out the stops after that idiot threw so much force around."

"Then we'd best move quickly," Byakuya stated, sword once again intact.

"Well, let's get to it, then," Yoruichi added, grinning. "Think you can keep up, Byaki?"

A twitch of his eye was all the irritation the captain showed, and the two took off at unbelievable speeds, the others quickly following with only a small amount of difficulty.

Before long, the two cleared a path straight through Hueco Mundo, any opposition quickly cut down as they moved.

And finally, they were in Aizen's antechamber. And inside were two men, the one that wasn't Naraku looking just as slimy and evil. And both were focused on Kagome as soon as she entered, the Shikon burning hot against her chest…

A/N:

And so the battle begins! Hope you enjoyed, and as always, be sure to leave your thoughts, be they positive or not. See you next time!


	60. Chapter 59

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Language, violence

Alliance of Evil

Naraku stared at Kagome, a stomach-turning leer pinning her.

"Well, well, it's nice to see you again, Kagome."

His gaze moved across the group, an amused smirk forming at seeing Sesshomaru and Kagura.

"And I see you're still traveling with dogs, as well. And even Kagura. Then again, she did have a childish infatuation with the dog, didn't she?"

The two in question gave growls, Sesshomaru pulling his second sword out while Kagura readied her fans.

"That's the miko? Aizen asked, sending cold shivers through her spine as he stared at her.

The others measured up Naraku. Standing tall, he was wrapped in his armor, spikes rising from around him and an eye from his belt seeming to glare at them. But he was restraining his power, seeming pathetic enough that the others would underestimate him.

"So this is the cause of our concern? He doesn't seem too tough," Yoruichi mused.

Naraku stared into the miko's eyes, trying to keep her attention. Kagome, though, sensed a small pulse of his energy and moved, bow forming mid-spin to cut through a tentacle that rose from the ground.

When she completed her spin, she pushed off, a burst of energy sending her rocketing at the youkai and ex-Shinigami.

Just as she reached half-way through the room, arrows hailed down, forcing her to back off her charge.

She turned on the assailant, facing Kikyo.

The undead miko seemed even paler than usual, to the point of looking like the zombie she was. In her hands was a black bow, crackling with silver energy as she readied three more arrows.

"Who is she?" Soi Fon growled, grabbing at her blade.

"She looks like the miko," Byakuya added.

"Long story short, she's a zombie who stole part of my soul to live," Kagome growled, not taking her eyes off her incarnation.

"My soul, at first," Kikyo corrected, glaring at her.

"I'd like to think it isn't as twisted in its new container. Oh, and Inuyasha says goodbye."

Kikyo reacted, as much as she possibly could, eyes widening and muscles tensing.

"You killed Inuyasha."

It wasn't a question, and Kagome didn't deem it worthy of an answer, staring silently at her and keeping her senses open for when Naraku inevitably acted on the situation.

"Seems that you two have unfinished business," Naraku quipped.

"You realize if it weren't for you, it wouldn't have happened that way. Oh, and nice work, with the army of sand, by the way.

Kikyo loosed the arrows, all of them heading with deadly speed for Kagome's heart. In response, Kagome shot her own arrow, which went through Kikyo's with a burst of silver light with each snapped arrow.

It kept traveling, running for Kikyo's chest. She brought her bow up, smacking the arrow away.

Using the opening she'd made, Kagome charged, slamming into her with the force of a train and sending her into the nearest wall, the brick cracking around her body.

She pushed herself out, a crack showing on her shoulder through her now-ripped kimono. Spitting out blood, she brushed herself off, dust filling the air around her.

"Stop gawking. She might take me a while," Kagome growled, sending a glare at the others before turning back to Kikyo, who was beginning to glow.

Sesshomaru moved at that, charging across the street. Tentacles rose in a web, going for all of his vital points as he charged.

Kagura moved as well, scythes of wind flying through more of the tentacles to keep the dog uninjured.

The tentacles began to grow then, hundreds of them rising from the floor for every one destroyed, quickly filling the room and forcing the group to keep moving.

Kagura got up next to Sesshomaru, both of them moving faster than the others through the huge room towards Naraku.

"Tch. You should know I won't go down with something of this nature," Kagura sneered. _"Dance of the Dragon!"_

Wind kicked up, shredding through the tentacles on their way to Naraku. In response, a massive wall of the tentacles rose from the floor in waves, quickly breaking the attack down to nothing.

The remaining tentacles moved on the sorceress, going for her heart. Before they got close, Sesshomaru swung his hands out. While slicing them apart with his blade with one hand, the other swung a sickly green whip, burning the rest and sending their poison along the tentacles' stocks towards Naraku.

In the background, the others were easily destroying the tentacles, Uryuu's arrows burning through them as fast as they rose.

"Seems you've traded up from that pathetic monk and slayer in a short time, Kagome," Kikyo mused, readying her bow again.

Kagome stared her down, her own body flaring with energy.

"Don't talk about Miroku and Sango. They're dead, probably because at least in part of you," she snarled.

"Their blood isn't on my hands. But yours certainly will be."

She released her arrows, silver energy wrapped around the tips as they moved.

Kagome responded in kind, firing arrows. They went under Kikyo's, the energy around the arrows pushing her own out of the way.

Kagome dove, avoiding the arrows, except for the one Kikyo fired as soon as she moved. The arrow slammed home into Kagome's shoulder, driving her to the ground and pinning her to the ground.

"Well, that's that, it would seem," Naraku laughed.

"Indeed. Now then, I'll be taking the Shikon no Tama from your corpse," Aizen added, pointing at Kagome.

Ichigo moved as soon as Kagome was hit, slashing through the walls of tentacles and coming to her side just as Kikyo fired another arrow. Before he could stop the arrow, Kagome reacted, her own bow snapping the arrow to pieces.

Reaching up, she snapped the arrow in her shoulder in half, the wood turning to silver ash.

"You should've just shot a normal arrow," she laughed, pushing herself to her feet.

The ash began to glow, and before Kikyo's stunned eyes, the wound sealed itself.

"Yeah, surprise. I'm not just a miko, and that was the last mistake you'll make."

Before Kikyo could draw again, Kagome was on her, a brilliant arrow of blue energy spiking through Kikyo's chest.

With a scream, she fell to the ground, light pouring through the cracks in her body and souls exploding out of her.

"Hopefully you'll have some semblance of happiness in whatever afterlife you go to. And I promise, my soul won't be so warped."

With one last scream, Kikyo broke apart, her body turning to dust.

Kagome then turned, energy still raging around her as she met Naraku's surprised gaze. She fired another arrow, and when it hit beneath his feet, the tentacles around the room disintegrated, not a trace of them left anywhere.

"You're next," she hissed, raising her bow for Naraku's head.

"I think there are others who should concern you, actually," Aizen stated.

The ground shook then, and Arrancar appeared, surrounding them.

Kagome gave a shrug, firing arrow after arrow. She was soon joined by Uryuu's own arrows, as well as waves of attacks by the others, most of the Hollows being wiped out of existence with no problem.

One, though, avoided all of their attacks, moving with the deadly grace of an apex predator on the hunt.

She moved forward through the attacks, heading for Kagome. Before the miko could react, the woman dove and a foot smashed into her stomach, sending her back into the same crater she'd made with Kikyo's body.

Unlike before, though, the Arrancar continued after her, a ball of red energy forming in one of her palms as the other wrapped in an iron grip around her throat.

"Back the hell off," she choked out, a barrier exploding outward and throwing the Hollow back.

She landed gracefully, a smirk showing a pair of fangs.

She stood at close to seven feet tall, with her right eye covered by the shard of her Hollow mask. Grey, almost silver hair hung to her mid-back, and a sheathed sword rested at her side. A hole rested in the middle of her stomach, and on her chest, just above her right breast, was a tattoo of the number one.

"Oh, shit," Uryuu growled, taking aim at the woman.

"You must be the intruder who's been causing such a ruckus. A girl needs her beauty rest, you know," the woman sighed.

Kagome pushed herself out of the wall, glaring at the Arrancar while holding her stomach.

"You're an Espada?" she asked, staring at the tattoo.

"No. I'm _the _Espada. Isis Mater, the Primera Espada, and death embodied, at your funeral," the Espada sneered.

Sesshomaru moved on her, sword going for her neck. Before the strike landed, Isis jumped to the side and sent a kick at his side. When he blocked, the force sent him skidding backwards, steam rising from where she'd hit.

"This is getting boring," Aizen sighed.

"Indeed. Onto matters more important," Naraku stated, turning away from them.

"Your story intrigues me. In exchange for the aid of your youkai and incarnations, I will free you of your remaining humanity, and give you the girl's jewel."

"Then it's a deal struck."

"Time to finish this, then," Aizen stated.

He snapped his finger, and Hollows appeared in the room, much less weak than the other ones and much larger in numbers.

"I was just getting warmed up," Isis sighed. "I suppose I'll have to save it for someone stronger."

The Hollows were soon joined by youkai, the forces quickly filling the room.

"We're leaving, now," Urahara stated, stabbing at the nearest youkai.

"I don't run away," Soi Fon snarled.

Yoruichi appeared then, knocking the captain over so she was flipped over her shoulder.

"Maybe not, but I don't feel like dying today from exhaustion. Much easier to just topple the castle on them from outside."

"This is their desert. If they can pull the same thing in here that they did out there, we won't have enough energy to keep going," Kagome growled. "We're going."

Kagome grabbed Ichigo's hand, and they moved. In a matter of seconds, they were out of Las Noches.

When they were a decent distance away, they heard other Shinigami battling nearby, and energy was running rampant through the desert.

Kagome's bow formed, power rippling along the air and causing the space around her to hum. Taking a step away from Ichigo, she turned to Las Noches, where energy was amassing for some form of attack.

"Not today," she snarled.

She released the arrow, and when it reached the castle, it exploded, a massive silver spider web of energy forming from the shaft.

"_Watashi reizu kore sekisho, ken inshou issai kuragari innai!_"

The web flared with light, and a massive bubble of silver encased the castle.

Breathing hard, she turned, heading towards where the other Shinigami were.

"Anything demonic in there should be purified. Aizen and Naraku will probably survive, but even if they do, there won't be any forces behind them to fight with. We need to be further away so I can take the castle down."

"Holy shit! You can really do that?" Yoruichi gasped, seeming to have forgotten the now-furiously blushing Soi Fon over her shoulder.

"Don't know. If I hit the barrier with a blast of energy, it would, in theory, overload and explode. Whether it works that way or not, I don't have a clue, and I don't want to be close enough to find out personally, either way," Kagome sighed.

"You've certainly improved," Sesshomaru mused, walking alongside her now with Kagura and the others trailing behind.

"Yeah. I guess I should thank you after all, Urahara," the miko sighed.

"But of course! I knew my genius would shine through," he boasted, smirking as he observed Ichigo, now at Kagome's side and looking like he wanted to carry her…

A/N:

Isis- An Egyptian funerary goddess

Mater- mother

She's literally the mother of death.

Watashi reizu kore sekisho, ken inshou issai kuragari innai – "I raise this barrier and seal all darkness within!"

It may have been unnecessary, but I prefer a foreign language when using magick in my stories to differentiate its level of awesome from average speech.

People probably noticed how huge the room must've been. I'm going on how the room looked in the manga, and it seemed to be _huge_, which is why they couldn't cross the room in a few steps, and why there could be so many tentacles.

Also, it kind of seems like Kagome pulled a deus ex machina with the healing herself. Let me explain that. Quincies are very good at using spirit energy. That, coupled with the basic principles of how Uryuu fights Mayuri early on in the story, means it's technically possible that the Quincy could heal themselves, if they had enough energy, such as Kikyo's purifying energy-filled arrow.

Finally, those who read the manga will notice the Primera isn't Stark, who's awesome, but I'm working in an alternate reality where the Espada have been killed and replaced, for the most part.

It was a long one, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. See you next time!


	61. Chapter 60

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Rebirth

They continued along the desert, heading for the portal they'd come through. The sounds of battle were still nearby, though in much less force.

When the actual opening came into view, albeit very far away, Kagome spun and fired another arrow. It launched across the desert, sand rising in torrents around it as it passed. And then, it hit the barrier.

And all hell broke loose.

The barrier flashed a bright, angry-looking gray, the dome beginning to shake. Small waves of energy began to rumble through its surface, the desert vibrating alongside it. Sand began to jump up and down in waves, forming a whirlpool of sorts around the pulsing barrier.

And then it exploded.

Las Noches stood in the dust and sand left from the explosion, for all of three tense seconds. And with the sound of a gunshot, the bricks began to give, the force destroying the castle and bringing it toppling onto those within.

The screams of demons filled the air, a horrific combination of screeches and howls that turned blood cold.

Kagome sent her senses out, and felt several pulses of energy still around in the debris of the castle. But they were damaged, whoever had survived, and wouldn't be getting up any time soon. Or so she hoped.

She turned back toward the portal and found the others staring at her, partially in awe and partially in shock. Yoruichi was the first to break the silence.

"Holy shit! That's quite a one-two punch you've got there, Kagome."

Kagome noticed that Soi Fon seemed to be glaring at her a little harder than she'd previously been, but before she wondered on that, the others used the broken silence.

"You just took down a whole damn castle," Urahara added, laughing.

"Remind me never to piss you off," Renji grumbled, standing beside the stoic Byakuya.

"I can agree with the simpleton. It's very good you couldn't do that while back in the past," Kagura said, shuddering.

"Thanks, but I'll feel better when we're out of this desert," Kagome sighed, feeling the rumblings of waking Hollows and Arrancar from the sands.

The beasts began to rise, pressing her point and making them move as fast as they could.

"How many swords does that thing make?" Kagome asked, running alongside Byakuya, who gave her a glare in response.

"One thousand. Why?"

"I'm just trying to figure out how Zanpakuto relate to their owners."

"You don't need to know," Renji growled.

"They've got a point. Considering that not ten hours ago, you were almost killing each other, curiosity looks bad," Ichigo mused.

Kagome would've responded, but two things interrupted her. First, they reached the portal, a thick crack in the air. The second was that the desert came alive, millions of Hollows rising from the sand between them and the hole.

They came to a stop, Sesshomaru and Kagura stepping forward.

"I don't think I need to say it, but if they get through into the human world, it'll be bad," Urahara stated, energy beginning to pulse around him.

Before they moved on the Hollows, a massive cloud of ashes took form, screams and howls coming from inside the cloud.

"It's about time you guys showed up," a woman sighed.

Standing off to the side of the Hollows, atop a mountain, was a woman with brilliant blonde hair holding a bladeless sword handle, slashing the nonexistent blade at the cloud. In response, more howls sounded.

Kagome felt the stirrings of something in the desert, a stomach-turning energy that was worse than the numerous youkai and Hollows currently being broken apart by the Shinigami's Zanpakuto or coming at them from behind.

"We need to get that portal shut with these things still here. Urahara, how long does it take to close it off?"

"It'll take all of five minutes to get it shut, but keeping them out that long might be hard. They don't look like they're going to stop coming any time soon."

"Five minutes, huh? Between stoic guy's Zanpakuto, Uryuu's arrows, and your blasts, think you can handle five minutes? You wouldn't need to keep fighting them. You just need to hold them out."

"That could work," the shop owner agreed.

With a nod, Kagome launched through the desert, landing at the woman's side and watching as she made another cut.

"We're pulling out. I'm assuming there's another portal the Shinigami took. You might want to tell them to get out, too."

"You're the Quincy? You move faster than Uryuu."

"I suppose. If they're coming for this portal, they'll be going for the other one, too. You might want to get there."

"Toshi and that Mayuri can handle that. And there are all the other Shinigami on the other side if they can't for some reason. I take it you can't say the same?" she asked, slashing again.

"Urahara says it'll take five minutes to close the portal. Can you keep this up for that long?"

"Don't know. Doesn't mean I can't try."

"Maybe, but trust me, you don't want to be on this side in five minutes. When I move, cut off the ashes. It'll let them get through so Urahara can get to work closing the portal."

"I like you, Quincy," the woman mused, smirking at Kagome.

Kagome moved then, heading into the fray of very, very dead Hollows and youkai as the ashes disappeared. As soon as she was within their range, her bow came out, and arrow after arrow broke them further apart, until the way to the portal is clear.

"Get moving!"

Needing no advising, they moved past her into the portal.

"Oi, they're coming," Ichigo said, heading for her side.

She nodded and started to head for the portal as well, the blonde's ashes and the pink, flower petal-like blades from Byakuya reaching out of the portal and providing cover fire.

But just as they reached it, the desert between them exploded, massive tentacles and powerful youkai taking up the space between them.

Cursing, Kagome turned to face what she'd felt. She just hadn't expected the energy to belong to Naraku, though he was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit!" Ichigo hissed, drawing his Zanpakuto.

A torrent of sand exploded upwards, revealing Naraku…

… with a white half-mask covering his face, and twice the youki he'd had before the castle collapsed.

"Well now, dropping a castle onto me wasn't very nice, Kagome," he quipped, stepping away from the falling sand. "I think I'll kill you, now."

A/N:

So yeah, even a castle falling on him wasn't enough to take care of Naraku, so now it's just Kagome and Ichigo versus his improved self and his small army. Hope you're enjoying. See you next time!


	62. Discontinuation Notice

Hey, everyone! It's been a very, very long time since I've even logged onto this site, much less written any fanfics, this one being the only one I have left unfinished. When I first started out writing fanfiction, I started with the full intention of never repeating what I was so annoyed with in the first place, which was engaging stories suddenly cutting off. Unfortunately, this story is going to have to break that intention.

I fully enjoyed writing the story, and it helped me develop my writing skills quite a bit. Going by the number of reviews and favorites, a lot of others seem to enjoy it too, which is absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, going into college and beginning to go into a more design-based art form over literary meant that it fell to the wayside, just a chapter or two short from when I would've been ending the first segment of the story.

Part of why I will be discontinuing this story is that I lost my notes on where I intended to take the story a while ago, and without that, I can't remember my intentions for the plot based only on reading what I've written out. Adding to that is the fact that I've since lost a lot of my passion for the particular anime I based the story in, and without that, I would probably not write the rest of the story well.

I always have been and always will be a writer, no matter what other art forms I take on, so this will likely not be the last fanfiction on this account for people to enjoy, but I think I need to move on from this to do so, and it's only fair to let the various others who enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it know that it will not be continuing as a story.

I do apologize, and I am incredibly grateful in regards to all of the words of encouragement, as well as the critiques, both of which helped me become a progressively better writer.

This hopefully won't be the last you see of me.

Sincerely,

Witch of Swords


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